Prime Minister Binyamin Netenyahu and Health Minister Yuli Edelstein were photographed with the millionth Israeli to receive the coronavirus vaccine to mark the milestone on Friday.
The man photographed with the Prime Minister and Health Minister is Muhammad Abd al-Wahab Jabarin, 66, from Umm al-Fahm. Kann News reported that Jabarin is a convicted murderer who was released after serving a prison sentence for the murder of two people 20 years ago.
City officials said they were very surprised by the choice of Jabarin to be photographed alongside the prime minister, and stated that the organizers of the well-publicized event were probably not informed of the man's past.
In response to the publication, MK Zvi Hauser (New Hope) tweeted: "The jig is up - this is the definition of this administration. It's behavior in the race to reach the millionth vaccination is paramount to its fight on violence, its management of the economic crisis, and almost everything else its done to this point."
The mayor of Umm al-Fahm said this morning in an interview with Radio 103FM that he received the announcement of Netanyahu's planned visit to the city only two hours prior to his arrival.
"As befits a mayor, I must welcome the Prime Minister for his announcement of having the millionth [Israeli citizen] vaccinated," said Dr. Samir Mahamid.
“I want to attribute good intentions to the Prime Minister, he came and I honored his presence and the presence of the Health Minister and all his entourage. I also raised the cry of our mothers and everything related to violence in Arab society. The prime minister and national government must address the issue of violence in the Arab sector. I told the prime minister about the situation in the city and reminded him that I sent a letter several months ago to the director general of his office regarding the management of the city and unfortunately did not receive a response," he said.
Dr. Mahamid added that feelings over the prime minister's visits to his city were mixed, with some saying Netanyahu should be treated as an honored guest while others accused him of using the visit as a political stunt in light of the upcoming elections in March.