Newsletters
Ofer Cassif, an Israeli lawmaker from the Hadash party whose candidacy was rejected by the Central Elections Committee, said the Palestinian vote could prove to be a “game-changer” in Israel’s Oct. 27 parliamentary elections.
“Everybody understands that the game-changer is the Palestinian vote, the Palestinian citizens in Israel. I mean, not in the occupied territories,” Cassif told Anadolu.
“Twenty percent of the citizens in Israel are Palestinian Arabs,” he said.
Cassif, a Jewish lawmaker who has strongly criticized Israel’s policies toward Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and the Gaza Strip, faces an attempt to bar him from running in the election.
The Central Elections Committee voted to disqualify Cassif’s candidacy following a motion submitted by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party.
The motion passed in an 18-5 vote, along with decisions to disqualify parties representing Palestinians.
The Supreme Court will make the final decision on whether Cassif can participate in the elections.
Cassif said Netanyahu wants to remain in power and “has been doing whatever possible for him to stay in power,” describing him as a “criminal psychopath who cares only about himself.”
Pointing to corruption cases against Netanyahu and an arrest warrant issued for him by the International Criminal Court, Cassif said the prime minister was afraid of being arrested.
“Everybody should understand that Netanyahu should go away. His government should go away,” Cassif said.
“If they don’t, if they win again, that may lead to a terrible bloodshed that we’ve never experienced, not even on the 7th of October and afterwards,” he added.
Cassif said Arab citizens of Israel make up 20% of the population and noted that two lists and two candidates representing Palestinians had been disqualified.
“They know that we are the game changer, and they want to block us, because they know that if we are out of the game, they will hold to power forever,” he said.
“There’s no chance to foil Netanyahu’s gang without us,” he added.
Cassif said he believed all the disqualification decisions would be overturned by the Supreme Court.
“It’s quite clear that all of those disqualifications, perhaps apart from one, are going to be overturned by the court,” he said.
Cassif said the attempt to bar political representatives from the elections comes as Israel’s war continues in Gaza.
“So, you can see that all this self-flattering title of 'we are the only democracy in the Middle East,' if it wasn’t so tragic, it was really a joke,” he said.
Cassif said there had always been democratic procedures and democratic elements in Israel but argued that the country “never had a democratic structure and character.”
Since October 2023, Israel’s war in Gaza has killed more than 73,000 people and wounded over 174,000 while destroying 90% of the enclave’s infrastructure.
The Israeli army continues its attacks despite a cease-fire that has been in effect since last October.
Set as preferred source
Set as preferred source
1 min read
1 min read
