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Palestinians In Israel Urged Not To Vote In Elections
JERUSALEM, Feb 4 (IslamOnline) - A leading scholar of the Islamic movement inside Israel's Arab community urged fellow Muslims not to vote for either candidate in Israel's prime ministerial elections.
In an interview with the Weekly Resalah, issued by the Islamic salvation Party, Sheikh Sarsour, member of the Islamic movement in the Jewish state, said that before granting their votes to Barak, Muslims should bear in mind the souls and blood of their brothers killed by Barak's government in the occupied territories
Sarsour said that Israeli Arabs should not vote for a terrorist government that remained ruthless towards children and the families of Palestinian victims.
"Dozens of Palestinians are still dying everyday in West Bank and Gaza by Israeli violence, for whom are we voting,"
"Those who are campaigning for Barak are a group of Arabs who lack awareness and who were obsessed by 50 years of residence in Israel. Life in Israel is like a living in a dark cell.
"Those who lived in Israel believed in its fake slogans and false promises, those who lived in Israel became too blind to see the crimes that the Labor party has committed against humanity," Sarsour added
"Those who would support Barak would be a group that applauded for its murderer, and cheered for those who violated its sanctuaries," he reportedly said.
Moreover, Sarsour said that Israeli Arabs should not, by any means, support the Labor party, Barak's party, because of the attacks it has continuously launched against Palestinians.
"We should not forget the black history of the Labor party. It's the Labor Party that is killing our people, devastating our villages and putting them under siege, " Sarsour said.
"It's the Labor party who has scattered the Palestinians everywhere. It's the Labor party who has always denied the rights of Palestinians in having a sovereign state," he added.
Sarsour, addressing Israeli Arabs, warned them from supporting Barak, and asked them why they would support a party who has committed all these cruelties?
"After four months of Israeli massacres, I wonder how dare the Israeli campaigners appeal to the Arabs asking them to vote for their vicious candidates? Do they think they can fool us?"
"We'll never let them fool us," Sarsour said.
Sarsour said that Arabs supporting Barak try to be "pragmatic" and "realistic" people.
Moreover, he said that Likud's candidate, Ariel Sharon, as well as Barak are both evils from whom the Arabs should be cautious. Furthermore, he added that the Arabs should boycott the elections altogether and stand united and punish the criminals.
Sarsour added that Arab participation in Israeli elections is an unforgivable insult that would remain in the minds of all Arabs for generations, stating that the Islamic movement in Israel, and the Islamic Shura Council, has will boycott the Israeli elections.
In addition, supporters of various Israeli parties have urged Israeli Arabs, as well as the Israeli Jews, to boycott , Israeli elections and to vote for none of the two candidates.
"We, the supporters of various parties in Israel, would not grant our voices for any of the candidates," they said in a statement published Friday in Israeli and Arabic newspapers.
The two candidates are two immoral generals who claimed to work for peace, the statement said. During "Barak's peace", 13 Arabs were killed in Israel, while during "Sharon's peace", thousands of Palestinians, Lebanese and Israelis were killed.
More than 50 Jewish and Palestinian intellectuals signed a statement saying that Barak and Sharon are not aimed at a pious and fair rule.
Moreover, they said that Israeli citizens need a pious and democratic government aimed at halting violence in the occupied territories, ending Israeli occupation and reaching a historical peace agreement with the Palestinians.
Finally, the statement affirmed that both candidates are "unqualified" for ruling the Jewish state and that they were likely to instigate a regional war in the Middle East.
There are about one million Arabs living in Israel - Palestine occupied in 1948. They represent about 1/6 of the Israeli population and have 13 MP's in the Israeli Knesset. They refer to themselves as "the Palestinians of 1948" rather than Israeli Arabs.
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