Far-right opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu and racist MK Itamar Ben Gvir of Religious Zionism met on Wednesday and agreed to coordinate on campaign and media strategy, Channel 12 news reported.
According to the report, the two politicians discussed the areas in which they will focus their campaigns, as well as media coordination. Netanyahu is reportedly concerned that Ben Gvir could take votes from Likud in the November 1 election. Ben Gvir was said to be equally keen that Netanyahu’s Likud not focus efforts on attracting voters from his party.
Young Communists during a demonstration against racist MK Ben Gvir in South Tel-Aviv, Tuesday, October 11, 2022 (Photo: Zo Haderech)
Netanyahu appears to be routinely coordinating campaigns and media strategy with Ben Gvir. This is the third election Netanyahu has backed Ben Gvir
Ben-Gvir’s inclusion within Israeli apartheid politics, however, is hardly an outlier event. It puts a more openly racist face on everyday Israeli discrimination readily accepted by governments in Europe and the US.
His party has also put up a huge racist billboard calling to banish “enemies” such as Hadash-Ta’al leader MK Ayman Odeh as well as senior members MK Ahmad Tibi and MK Cassif.
On last Thursday night, Ben Gvir brandished a gun during a tour of an occupied East Jerusalem neighborhood amid intense clashes between settlers and Palestinians, drawing fire from Hadash MKs. MK Cassif wrote that Ben Gvir’s place “is in prison, not the Knesset.”
In a video from the scene, Ben Gvir is seen standing with a group of supporters, and security guards some 25 meters from a group of Palestinians when a stone flies through the air. Ben Gvir raises both of his hands in the air and the group, including a guard with a submachine gun, quickly walk backward to take cover behind a parked truck.
On Wednesday night, Ben Gvir also visited Sheikh Jarrah, amid similar clashes.
In footage from the Wednesday visit, Ben Gvir is seen lecturing to a group of Arabs that “if you throw stones, I’ll mow you down.” “We’re the landlords here, remember that, I am your landlord,” he says.
Related: https://maki.org.il/en/?p=30599
Source: Communist Party of Israel