MK Amichai Chikli of the Yamina party has dismissed all the criticisms being leveled against him for his outspoken opposition to the formation of a government that would include Yamina alongside the left-wing Meretz party and the predominantly Arab Joint List.
In a Facebook post written on Thursday morning, Chikli stressed that, “I have a great love for the Jewish People – for every single part of the Jewish People, across the spectrum, and including Meretz voters.”
“And in recent years, I even decided to devote a substantial amount of time to building bridges with the Arabs of Israel, a huge population, and one that I think should be integrated into our society,” he wrote.
However, Chikli continued and wrote that, “I entered politics in order to promote a nationalist and Zionist perspective of seeing things, and it simply isn’t possible to reconcile that with allowing IDF officers to be brought to trial at The Hague [in the International Criminal Court] as Meretz would like, or with support for [terrorist murderers like] Samir Kuntar such as that proffered to them by the Joint List.”
“And another point that is no less significant: As someone who believes in the democratic process, I am not prepared to lend my hand to the invalidation of one and a half million votes that were cast for right-wing parties. Sending love to all my friends on the left, the right, and in the center,” he concluded.