Ayman Odeh
Ayman OdehFlash90

Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman (Yisrael Beytenu) blasted Israeli Arab Joint List head Ayman Odeh Thursday evening, over the latter’s participation in a memorial service held in Ramallah for the previous head of the PLO, arch-terrorist Yasser Arafat.

MK Odeh eulogized Arafat on Thursday and slammed the existence of the State of Israel in whose parliament he serves (and from which he draws a hefty salary), calling it the “occupation of the lands of 1948.” Odeh rejected the label “Israeli Arab,” claiming that Jews had invented the term in an effort to erase “Palestinian Arab” identity.

The Defense Minister noted Odeh’s refusal to participate in the funeral of Israeli President and two-time Prime Minister Shimon Peres.

“He wouldn’t come to the funeral of Peres in Jerusalem, but today he goes and eulogizes Arafat in Ramallah.”

“We will continue to work to make sure that he is not a Knesset Member in Jerusalem, and at most will be a city council member in Ramallah.”

According to a report by the Palestine News Network, the memorial event for Arafat was held at Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas’ mansion in Ramallah and included senior PLO officials.

During the event, Abbas repeated the claim that Arafat was murdered and pledged to reveal the true story of Arafat’s death.

“We will continue to investigate [this] until we discover who the murderers are [of Arafat]. Personally, I know who they are, but my testimony isn’t enough.”