MK Basel Ghattas (Joint Arab List) defended MK Ayman Odeh's (Joint Arab List) decision not to participate in Peres' funeral.
In an interview with Channel 2, Ghattas said that Peres is one of the founders of the Zionist initiative, which, in his opinion, harmed the Arabs and the "Palestinians." According to Ghattas, if a survey was done, most of the Arab community would support Odeh's decision.