Yisrael Katz
Yisrael KatzEliran Aharon

Foreign Minister Yisrael Katz (Likud) on Monday said that Joint Arab List MK Ahmad Tibi has "called for the murder and injury of IDF soldiers, settlers, and Jews."

In an interview with 103 FM Radio, Katz said that he believes the Likud can win the elections, but "hundreds of thousands of people who support the Likud's stance did not go out to vote."

"We are making efforts to turn to people and urge them to go out and vote," he added. "We will get out to the field and convince people. There's an option for the Likud to continue as the ruling party."

"This time, [Blue and White leader MK Benny] Gantz cannot form a government without the Joint Arab List. Even with Yisrael Beytenu, Labor, Gesher, and Meretz, he doesn't have 61." Though Blue and White could form a minority government supported from the outside by the Joint Arab List, Katz believes that that "will be a disaster for the State of Israel. Not because they are Arabs, but because of their opinions."

"Just yesterday the Supreme Court, with a slim majority, approved MK Heba Yazbak's run. That's horrible. During the Second Intifada I was a young MK and Ahmad Tibi and his friends were always on the media calling for the murder and injury of IDF soldiers, settlers, and Jews."

Did Ahmad Tibi actually say that? We'll ask him for a response.

"Of course. I initiated then the law, an amendment to the section on Knesset elections, and added a section that says that a party or individual which explicitly or implicitly supports armed fighting by a terror organization or enemy country against the State of Israel cannot run for Knesset. I needed to make their disqualification dependent on the agreement of the Supreme Court in order to receive the support of the left. Gantz, with all due respect to his record, will be completely limited. He cannot apply sovereignty or properly fight a war if he is dependent on these people. If we manage to pull three Knesset seats' worth of Likud voters to the polls, we'll have a government."

When asked if he believes that Yisrael Beytenu's MK Avigdor Liberman will agree to sit with Tibi, Katz said: "He has said that [Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin] Netanyahu is not an option and that he will go with Gantz. At the end of the day, without the Joint Arab List and Ahmad Tibi, Gantz doesn't have a government. If we bring another three or four Knesset seats, we'll be able to form a government. I am working on this day and night. We will ask everyone to come out and vote."