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Hadash praises verdict on Arab parties

MK Barakeh says he will propose bill revoking Elections Committee's right to disqualify parties

Hadash Chairman MK Mohammad Barakeh told Ynet Wednesday that he was pleased with the Supreme Court's decision to permit Arab parties Balad and United Arab List-Ta'al to run in the national elections next month.

 

He said he had expected the decision, and that if a different one had been made he would have expected the disqualified parties to call on the Arab public to vote for Hadash.

 

"A call on the Arab public to boycott the elections is (Yisrael Beiteinu's Avigdor) Lieberman's wet dream," he said. Balad Chairman Jamal Zahalka had declared following the committee's move to disqualify the parties that if the court failed to overturn the decision, he would call upon Israeli Arabs to boycott the elections.

 

Barakeh said he would be proposing a bill revoking the Central Elections Committee's right to disqualify parties from running, in order to prevent the recurrence of such incidents.

 

"The party, aside from the chairman, is composed of party representatives so it's basically cheap politics," he said. "It's a scenario that is renewed during every election, due to the hopes of Lieberman and those similar to him to recruit more anti-Arab members to the committee."

 

Earlier, Lieberman condemned the court's verdict: "(Former Chief Justice) Aharon Barak once said that democracy doesn’t have to kill itself to prove it was alive. The court threw that sentiment out today, and virtually gave the Arab parties permission to kill Israel's (character) as a Jewish and democratic state," he said. 

 

"We will not give up," Lieberman added, "and we will make sure to pass the citizenship bill in the next Knesset. That will put an end to the disloyalty shown by some of Israel's Arabs."

 


פרסום ראשון: 01.21.09, 23:48
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