Israeli politicians call for Zoabi to be barred from elections

The joint Labour and Hatnua coalition, led by Yitzhak Herzog and Tzipi Livni, has decided to support the Israeli right-wing parties in barring Member of the Knesset Hanin Zoabi from running in the upcoming Knesset elections, Israel’s Channel 2 reported yesterday.

The channel also reported that if the leftist “Zionist camp” takes this step, then it risks the recently formed joint Arab list not supporting a leftist government formed by Labour.

For her part, Zoabi responded by saying that the decision proves that there are no fundamental differences between the Israeli right-wing and the leftist “Zionist camp” in regards to their positions on democracy and political freedoms.

Four right-wing Israeli political parties submitted a petition to the Israeli election committee to disqualify Hanin Zoabi from running in the Knesset elections under the pretext of her anti-Israeli positions.  The “Zionist Camp’s”  support of the petition is an indication that the joint list has not ruled out the option of forming a government coalition with Likud, especially after recent Israeli polls show that Likud has regained its power and lead on the “Zionist Camp”.

Since her participation in the Freedom Flotilla on board the Mavi Marmara, Zoabi, a member of the National Democratic Alliance bloc, has been subjected to brutal incitement campaigns. There have also been several attempts to prosecute her on the basis of her support of the Palestinian resistance against the occupation.

Zoabi also provoked Israeli anger from the right and left last summer when she refused to consider the kidnapping of three settlers near Hebron an act of terrorism. In addition to this, during a series of interviews and press conferences, Zoabi condemned the Israeli crimes against the Palestinian people in Gaza, labelling them war crimes.

Next Wednesday, the Israeli Central Elections Committee is due to discuss the petition calling for barring Zoabi from elections submitted by the Likud, the Jewish Home, Yisrael Beiteinu and Shas political parties.