MK Gamal Zahalka of the Joint List took advantage of his speech in the debate on the gas plan to attack the Labor Party, accusing its members of racism.
Zahalka first focused his remarks on MK Stav Shaffir: "The exaggeration is made by the woman of social justice, Stav Shaffir, who has never spoken a word to me, doesn't even say hello to me. I am transparent to her. Arabs don't exist.".
Zahalka shouted at Shaffir: "You are a racist, a racist of silence, of ignoring. There is such racism. Since you have been in the Knesset, you have not said a word to me, not even hello. I try with all my might to say hello to you and you do not answer.".
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""At least the extreme right are human beings. They say hello to you, they smile at you, even the people of the Yisrael Beiteinu party smile at us, but the Labor Party is the father and mother of racism, you invented racism," Zahalka lashed out.
He continued by accusing the Labor Party: "Those who took our land, those who expelled us, were not those who say 'death to the Arabs,' but those who told us 'we brought peace to you,' shame and disgrace.".
Zahalka added and accused that while the Likud is building settlements near Arab communities, the Labor Party has built kibbutzim on the lands of Arab communities.
The background to Zahalka's attack is a letter sent by MK Michal Biran to the Joint List and a letter sent by MK Stav Shaffir to the Attorney General - regarding the Joint List's compliance with Netanyahu's request to abstain from the vote.
In her letter, Shaffir demanded that the advisor "examine the publications regarding Prime Minister Netanyahu's promise to transfer 900 million shekels to the Arab sector in exchange for the absence of Joint List MKs regarding the transfer of authority over the gas plan.".
