The Jewish Home, led by Minister Naftali Bennett, is like Hamas without the terrorism, said Hatnua MK Amram Mitzna Thursday, in the sharpest exchange to date between members of the governing coalition. A Jewish Home MK called Mitzna's statement “barbaric.”
Speaking to Voice of Israel public radio, Mitzna said, “I have every expectation that the prime minister will be very precise, clear and tough, when Minister Bennett allows himself to say in an explicit way that [Palestinian Authority head Mahmoud Abbas – ed.] is an arch-terrorist, and calls for abandoning the idea of two states for two nations. I don't really understand why a minister like that is still sitting in the room.”
"The prime minister talks about the fact that we need to talk to the Palestinians,” he added, “because G-d forbid, if there won't be two states, it will be very bad for the state of Israel. That same prime minister allows a party like Jewish Home to sit in the government and do the exact opposite of what the prime minister says.
"If you take Hamas and you take away the matter of the terror,” he added, “then you have, inside the Israeli government, an organization that operates with the same goals as Hamas. When the prime minister demands that the Palestinians accept the Quartet conditions, does he demand the same of the Jewish home? Have we heard the Jewish Home say that it stands behind agreements that the governments of Israel signed, like Oslo?”
Deputy Education Minister Avi Wortzman also spoke on public radio and responded to Mitzna. “Mitzna said very serious things here. For a party like Hatnua, which is the most extreme one in the coalition, to come and preach to us about morality? We have crossed a red line, and this is barbarian behavior. I expect him to apologize.”