Lieberman to Arabs: You're welcome to forgo Israeli citizenship

"To all (the Arab-Israelis) who wish to forgo their Israeli citizenship I say do it as soon as possible. If you are having doubts, we'll help you," Yisrael Beiteinu Chairman Avigdor Lieberman said Sunday during an event held in Katzrin to mark the official launch of his party's election campaign.

"Unfortunately, the situation on the ground is such that those who are inciting against us feel protected, while those who want to fit in feel threatened," he said, "it must be made clear to everyone that they are better off being our friends than our enemies.

"Those who want rights must also accept the obligations. Without national service there is no social security." 

Yisrael Beiteinu convention (Photo: Avihu Shapira)

The state-sponsored national service program offers Israeli-Arab youths, who are exempt from military service due to security concerns, an alternative way of contributing.

Lieberman said he was concerned over the statements made by the Likud Party regarding the continuation of the peace process with the Palestinians. "What process do they plan on continuing exactly? The one that originated in Oslo? Or maybe the process launched by (Ehud) Barak in Camp David? This is unacceptable."

The Yisrael Beiteinu leader said his party's first bills in the next Knesset would deal with education and national insurance, adding that the party would push for more benefits for soldiers who serve in combat units, including exempting them from university tuition. "Those who give more should get more," he said.

Among the 500 people who attended the Yisrael Beiteinu event were a number of members of Israel's Druze community who reside in the Golan Heights.

"My home is in the Golan, and I came here because I support Lieberman," said Atah Hasson, one of the Druze who took part in the event. "I want Lieberman in the government because he will not cede the Golan, which belongs to Israel."