Arab MKs are ‘Trojan horse’ seeking to destroy Israel, claims Israeli minister

Israel’s Culture and Sports Minister described Arab-Israeli parliamentarians on Sunday as a “Trojan horse” seeking to destroy Israel. Miri Regev made her comment after the MKs had a meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. “Their place is in Gaza,” added Regev, “and not in Jerusalem.”

The MKs Ahmed Tibi, Talen Abu Arar and Masud Ghnaim were among a group of Israeli Arabs who met President Erdogan at the Tarabya Presidential Campus in Istanbul recently. They were told by Erdogan that Turkey will not turn its back on the Palestinian cause or the Palestinian people. He stressed that his country would share “all means available” for ending the Israeli occupation and establishing peace.

“Time and time again,” complained Regev, “[Arab MK Ahmad] Tibi and his group insist on proving to everyone that they are not really worthy of being members of the Israeli Knesset, they are [a Trojan horse] who seek the end of the State of Israel.”

According to the delegation, Erdogan promised the MKs that he would order the relevant authorities to release three Arab-Israelis who were arrested in Turkey after arriving for kidney transplants, and that he would assist them with necessary medical care. It is illegal to have a kidney transplant in Turkey if the donor is not an immediate relative.

The Turkish leader thanked the MKs for serving the Palestinian cause against Israeli “oppression” in Gaza as well as the “Jewish State” law and Israel’s “baseless rhetoric” against Turkey.

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