MK Orit Strook, the head of the Religious Zionist Party’s Knesset faction, responded in an interview with Arutz Sheva to the meeting between Yamina chairman Naftali Bennett and Ra'am chairman Mansour Abbas.
"A meeting with Abbas is at the top of the list of forbidden things. Not only according to my school of thought, but also according to the school of thought of my friends Naftali and Ayelet [Shaked]. And yet within a few hours they meet a party leader who supports terrorists, our worst enemies. It is shocking and simply inconceivable. I urge them to listen to their conscience," said Strook.
"In our faction, everyone unanimously agrees that Ra'am should not be relied on. It's like putting in a Trojan horse. Abbas is like Yasser Arafat. He speaks very nicely in Hebrew, but you have to listen to what he says in Arabic," she added.
"It is not true to say that Netanyahu is the one who should form a right-wing government while Bennett sits on the sidelines to see if he succeeds. All the right-wing parties should set out to form a right-wing government and set it as an exclusive goal. If Bennett had invested the efforts of meeting with Abbas in forming a right-wing government, this would already have been resolved. Bennett should not join a right-wing government. He should make every effort to form a right-wing government. That is his responsibility."
Strook was asked how her party reacted to the claim that they are interested in a fifth election to erase Yamina from the political map.
"This is a baseless claim, we are not talking about elections. For us, what matters is the State of Israel. We are in the month of Iyar, the month of national revival. In this month to come and hand over the reins to our haters? Naftali Bennett who knows how to get behind the wheel and has done so in the past, now wants to give that power to Abbas?" Strook wondered.