Arab-Israeli MPs accuse Lapid of going to war in Gaza to win election

MPs of the Joint Arab-Israeli List have denounced that Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid has launched the recent military offensive against Islamic Jihad in the Gaza Strip to win votes for the upcoming elections, scheduled for November 1.

This offensive has been “at the cost of Palestinian blood” in a context in which Israeli society “has lost its humanity” by supporting the attack, in the words of the Arab-Israeli MP Sami Abu Shehadeh reported by the daily ‘The Times of Israel’.

“The latest polls have upset Lapid and (Defense Minister Benny) Gantz” so “they are trying to stay in power at the cost of Palestinian blood,” he signed.

Earlier, in an interview with the Israeli public television Kan, Abu Shehadeh described as a “war crime” the so-called Operation Dawn, which from Friday to Sunday has claimed more than 40 lives in Gaza.

Regarding the death of Islamic Jihad leader Khaled Mansur, Abu Shehadé has affirmed that “any death without trial is a crime and if it is perpetrated by Jews it does not make it more legitimate”, although he has indicated that what scares him the most is that Israeli society and its media have completely aligned behind the offensive in a “machine of mass destruction”. “Behind the smart bombs is a stupid society. Only a stupid society loses its humanity,” he reiterated.

Abú Shehadé is also the leader of the Balad party, one of the three that make up the Joint Arab-Israeli List.