Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu approved on Monday a proposal by his Defence Minister, Avigdor Lieberman, to boycott speeches and appearances by Arab members of the Knesset (parliament) during full sessions, Safa news agency has reported.
According to Israeli Ynet News, Lieberman asked Coalition Leader David Bitan MK support a decision to boycott the Arab MKs, whose Knesset bloc is referred to as the Joint List. Lieberman, the leader of the extremist Yisrael Beytenu party, said that the initiative is a punishment measure against Joint List MKs due to their refusal to take part in the funeral of the late President Shimon Peres.
Netanyahu, said Ynet News, “acceded to Lieberman’s proposal and instructed that speeches made by MKs from the Joint List be boycotted, at least during the first convening of the Knesset for its opening winter session.”
Joint List MKs responded with disdain for the decision and those who have taken it. “It is a new low from a man whose entire political legacy is based on hatred and division,” said Ayman Odeh, the chairman of the Joint List.