Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman (Yisrael Beytenu) called upon coalition chairman David Bitton (Likud) push a binding resolution on the coalition, requiring all members to boycott all activities involving the largely Arab Joint List party.
Liberman raised the issue Sunday morning during a meeting of coalition faction leaders in the Prime Minister’s Office.
The Defense Minister noted the refusal of Joint List party members to attend the funeral of former Israeli President and Prime Minister Shimon Peres. Liberman said the snub crossed a red line, and merited a response from the government.
According to Liberman, the party’s behavior shows that there is no reason for Zionist parties to debate with them the Joint List any longer. As such, he argued, the coalition should boycott all Knesset speeches by Joint List MKs.
Liberman also appealed to opposition parties Yesh Atid and the Zionist Union, through MK Oded Forer (Yisrael Beytenu), to join the proposed boycott.