Joint List chairman MK Ayman Odeh on Thursday evening published a video in which he came out with particularly harsh criticism against the government, amid speculations about possible cooperation between the Joint List and the Lapid-Bennett coalition.
"This government is a compromise government between the right and the Zionist left, it can be summed up in one sentence - the continuation of the policy of the right without Netanyahu," Odeh charged. "The essence of the deal - the cessation of incitement against the State Attorney's Office, the Supreme Court and the police in exchange for silence in the face of the attack on Jerusalem and the Palestinian people. We in the Joint List will not be part of this deal."
According to a report on the Israel Hayom website, Odeh continued, "Since the occupation in 1967, there has not been a more serious attack on Jerusalem and the residents of Jerusalem than there has been by this government. The aggression in the Negev is the most brutal since the end of the military regime in 1966."
Earlier this week, Odeh caused an uproar after he called on Arabs who serve in Israel’s security forces to revolt.
The comments resulted in condemnation from across the political spectrum. The government has made it clear on several occasions that the Joint List will not be part of the coalition, but coalition officials have not ruled out collaborations in voting in the Knesset.
Odeh, for his part, claimed that his remarks were mistranslated.
Speaking to the Arab-Israeli Arab television channel Hala, Odeh claimed that in the Hebrew translation of his remarks, it was said that he called on Arabs serving in the security forces to throw their weapons at Israelis.
He added that he was accused of a statement in which he attacked the Israel Police when in practice he did not mention the police in the video but rather called on the Arab youth not to enlist in the ranks of the "occupation".