*JERUSALEM: *Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in full campaign mode aheadof April 9 polls, on Sunday said Israel “was not a state of all itscitizens” in a reference to the country’s Arab population.
The prime minister, in comments on Instagram, went on to say all citizens,including Arabs, had equal rights, but referred to a deeply controversiallaw passed last year declaring Israel the nation-state of the Jewish people.
“Israel is not a state of all its citizens,” Netanyahu wrote in response tocomments from an Israeli actress.
“According to the basic nationality law we passed, Israel is thenation-state of the Jewish people — and only it.
“As you wrote, there is no problem with the Arab citizens of Israel. Theyhave equal rights like all of us and the Likud government has invested morein the Arab sector than any other government,” he said of his right-wingparty.
As the comments caused waves in Israel, Netanyahu again spoke of the issueat the start of a cabinet meeting, making similar comments.
He called Israel a “Jewish, democratic state” with equal rights, but “thenation-state not of all its citizens, but only of the Jewish people”
Netanyahu has been accused of demonising Israeli Arabs, who make up some17.5per cent of the population, ahead of April polls in a bid to boostright-wing turnout.
He has continually warned that his opponents will receive the support ofArab parties and that they will make significant concessions to thePalestinians.
Netanyahu, under threat of indictment for corruption, is facing a toughchallenge from a centrist political alliance led by former military chiefof staff Benny Gantz and ex-finance minister Yair Lapid.
The alliance’s centrist positions and its security credentials — itincludes three former military chiefs of staff — have helped it beat backNetanyahu’s claims that its leaders are “weak” leftists.
Arab parties would be extremely unlikely to be part of any coalitiongovernment after elections.
Arab Israelis are Palestinians who remained on their land after the 1948creation of Israel and are largely supportive of the Palestinian cause.
Netanyahu leads what is seen as the most right-wing government in Israel’shistory and says he wants a similar coalition after the upcoming polls. -APP/AFP