Binyamin Netanyahu
Binyamin NetanyahuDavid Cohen/Flash 90

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu is calling on the Arab public not to seek the help of intermediaries and to join the Likud party in the elections.

In an interview with Israeli Arab websites panet.co.il and hala-tv.com on Sunday, Netanyahu undertook to arrange direct flights for Israeli Muslim citizens from Tel Aviv to Mecca for pilgrimages.

Netanyahu noted that the establishment of relations with Arab countries and the developing relations between Jews and Arabs in Israel will lead to a historic change in relations between Jews and Arabs in general.

Asked about the establishment of a Palestinian state, Netanyahu said that security should be in the hands of Israel in such a scenario, otherwise Hamas and Al-Qaeda would take over the territory. He said there could be a Palestinian self-government with expanded powers or a state with reduced sovereign powers.

Netanyahu also said that he has no problem with the Arab public but rather with its representatives, and that he supports full civic equality. He clarified that he would not rely on MK Mansour Abbas and called on the Arab public not to vote for Abbas and his Ra’am party.