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Israeli Rightists Wage Provocation Campaign Against Arabs Ahead of Election

© AP Photo / Ammar AwadAthletes, participating in the fifth international Jerusalem Marathon, run near a poster of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (L) and Naftali Bennett, head of far-right Jewish Home party, four days ahead of parliamentary elections, March 13, 2015
Athletes, participating in the fifth international Jerusalem Marathon, run near a poster of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (L) and Naftali Bennett, head of far-right Jewish Home party, four days ahead of parliamentary elections, March 13, 2015 - Sputnik International
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Aida Touma-Suliman of the leftist Hadash party said that right-wing parties are waging a fierce campaign against the Arab votes in the elections.

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MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Israel's right-wing groups are feeling threatened and have launched an incitement campaign against the country's Arab voters ahead of the upcoming parliament elections, Aida Touma-Suliman of the leftist Hadash party told Sputnik on Friday.

Israel will hold the 20th elections to the Israeli parliament, the Knesset, on March 17.

"Right-wing parties are waging a fierce campaign against the Arab votes in the elections and are trying to play on cheap interfaith issues," Touma, who is the fifth candidate for the upcoming Knesset elections, said.

It was expected that the political right would feel threatened by the fact that the Joint List, an alliance of four Arab-majority parties, has broad support in the Arab population and is set to become the third major political power in the Knesset, according to Touma.

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Therefore, an incitement campaign has been launched in an attempt to win over "right-wing extremists," according to the politician.

Despite the alleged provocations, Touma expressed hope that the Joint List would help raise the overall election turnout to 70 percent, and stated that any additional seats to those already held by the four parties would be a success.

"We are conducting extensive campaigning among the Arab population, especially among those who are yet to decide who they will vote for, though meetings and seminars. The main theme is Arab participation. We've managed to convince a number of groups who refused to vote in the previous election, and who have agreed to vote in this one," she said.

In a bid to better pass the increased 3.25 percent electoral threshold, the Arab-dominated Hadash, Balad, the United Arab List, and Ta'al parties, signed a cooperation agreement earlier this year.

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