The Knesset drops the Kafr Qassem massacre bill and a verbal altercation between deputies and an Arab minister

Israeli media reported today, Wednesday, that the Jewish parties in the coalition and the opposition have dropped a bill on the anniversary of the Kafr Qassem massacre, which was submitted by the Joint Arab List.

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According to the Israeli Broadcasting Corporation, Kan, the Jewish parties dropped this afternoon a bill proposed by Representative Aida Toma Suleiman from the Joint List to commemorate the victims of the Kafr Qassem massacre and make it an official day of mourning in the country.

The bill was voted against by 93 Knesset members from the opposition and the coalition, and this is the first bill that received a joint vote for the various Jewish parties, whether in the opposition or those participating in the government coalition headed by Naftali Bennett.

12 Knesset members voted for the bill, including all representatives of the Joint List, MKs of the United List and Arab MKs from the Meretz party, while many Knesset members who consider themselves on the Zionist left in the Meretz and Labor parties were absent from the session.

The voting process witnessed sharp arguments between the members of the Joint List and Meretz Minister Issawi Freij, who opposed the bill, justifying his position by “exploiting” the list’s deputies to the tragic incident to gain political profits.

Freij was forced to receive medical treatment at the Knesset clinic, following a verbal exchange between him and the list’s representatives.

It is noteworthy that the Kafr Qassem massacre was carried out by members of the Israeli border guards on October 29, 1956, against Palestinian citizens of the town of Kafr Qasem, northeast of Tel Aviv, which killed 51 Palestinians, including children, women and the elderly.

Source: Israeli media

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