Rabbi Dov Lior, a the leading Religious Zionist rabbi, expressed sharp views against the Arab Knesset members, stressing that until Israel is fully controlled by Jews, there will be no peace.
In a class given to his students, Rabbi Lior said, "The Land of Israel belongs exclusively to the People of Israel, and it is unthinkable that camel riders should sit in the Knesset of Israel. As long as the country's leadership does not understand that the Land of Israel belongs solely to the Jewish people - it is inconceivable that they should sit in our parliament."
Rabbi Lior added, "It is impossible for them to be lawmakers. He is a lawmaker like I am a jet pilot. They have turned a camel rider into a lawmaker - that is laughter and nonsense."
He further added, "With these savages, there will be no peace, until the Land of Israel remains entirely in the hands of the Jewish people. We need to strive to encourage their departure."
Previously, Arab MKs have sought condemnation of Israel by the European Union, and called for a boycott of Israel.
In 2018, Muhammad al-Atawah, a member of the faculty of the Department of Middle Eastern Studies at Ben-Gurion University, told 103FM Radio, "The Arab leadership in the Knesset is running away from internal activity and helping its public in favor of Palestinian-national issues, the Arab public is getting into this leadership, and the Arabs are acting according to a proven recipe for the preservation of the failures. Their unrealistic demands reinforce the false image on the right that the Arabs are the existential threat."
He added, "No one wants to sit with them because of the things they have done in recent years. If this was a moderate, rational leadership that really wanted to advance the population for the sake of the state, it will join. The Arab MKs' approach is very problematic, and this is not how they behave toward the state and the public, and they do not promote interests in such a way, they simply harm the Arab population."