Livni: Feiglin exposed Likud's true nature
Hatnua chairwoman says far-Right Likud member's suggestion to pay Palestinians to leave West Bank, his calls for its annexation 'removed Likud's mask'
The leftist-centrist parties responded with scathingly harsh criticism Wednesday to commitments made by senior Likud members to annex the West Bank and to Likud member Moshe Feiglin's plan to transfer Palestinian families wanting to emigrate from Israel in exchange for $500,000.
"I still hope and believe that if the public sees this, they will understand that the masks have been removed," said Hatnua Chairwoman Tzipi Livni in a Ynet interview.
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The members of the ruling party and specifically Moshe Feiglin, Minister Yuli Edelstein, Coalition Chairman Zeev Elkin and MK Yariv Levin participated on Tuesday night in a conference dealing with the operational application of Israeli law beyond the Green Line. During the conference, Feiglin suggested paying $500,000 to each Arab family willing to emigrate from Israel.
Feiglin's direct approach was backed by a few Likud members who suggested annexing parts of the West Bank and applying Israeli law on them. "This only proves that what looks like the Likud or Habayit Hayehudi is not just the pleasant people we see talking on television, but rather extremists who want to prevent us from reaching an agreement," said Livni.
"These are people who want to compel us to live in a halachic state, they are the essence, the heart of these parties," she said.
"Netanyahu is making great efforts to keep Feiglin and his dangerous beliefs behind the campaign scenes, but the truth has come to light," said Meretz Chairwoman Zahava Gal-On.
"The Likud-Beiteinu is not just a nationalistic, right-wing party but rather a core extension of the most extreme settlers whose vision is that Israel annex territories without granting the residents their citizens' rights."
Labor spokesman Eitan Cabel also responded to Feiglin's comments: "We have once again discovered that the Likud suffers from schizophrenia. We will go to sleep at night with the moderate Bibi and in the morning wake up with the extreme Bibi who follows Feiglin, Elkin and the rest of the extremists."
Cabel also said, "we are slowly but surely shedding light on the Likud's true colors – the same extremist Likud that endangers our future socially and politically."
"The comments we are hearing on the eve of the elections, are just a promo to the big show Netanyahu and his cronies are planning for us."
'Feiglin, Ben-Gvir cut from same cloth'
Hatnua Spokesman MK Yoel Hasson also responded harshly saying that "despite all the Likud officials' silencing attempts, the faces behind the masks are being revealed in Feiglin and his Likud friends' expressions of racism."
"It is important to understand that even a microscope can't differentiate between Feiglin and right-wing activist Itamar Ben-Gvir and Habayit Hayehudi Chairman Naftali Bennett; all pulling Netanyahu to the far, far right which means political isolationism," Hasson added.
Aside from Feiglin, other Likud officials said their piece at the conference. Minister Edelstein expressed his support of gradual steps towards enforcing Israeli autonomy in the West Bank and determined that "not enforcing autonomy means maintaining the status quo; strengthening the international community's demands to return to the 1967 borders."
MK Yariv Levin said that even though the chances are slim, Israel must enforce Israeli rule of law in all settlements beyond the Green Line and not only those in the settlement bloc. MK Elkin added that due to the difficulty, Israel must annex one step at a time – first the Jewish areas and then the rest.
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