Zoabi continues to blackmail: Demands another 300 million shekels from Arab authorities

June 1, 2022   

The salami method: MK Jida Rinaoui Zoabi from Meretz has set a new condition for her support for the coalition.

Zoabi is demanding that Foreign Minister Yair Lapid and Finance Minister Avigdor Lieberman transfer 300 million shekels from the balanced budgets to the Arab authorities. Amit Segal reported on Channel 12 that this is new money, not 'hyped'. In other words, it is not part of the agreements with Ra'am, not money that goes to a hospital or a community center, but money that goes to electing heads of authorities, eight of whom accompanied Rinaw Zoabi at the reconciliation meeting with Yair Lapid two weeks ago. This demand was raised today in a conversation with Finance Minister Hamed Amar from Yisrael Beiteinu, and with the director general of Lapid's alternate prime minister's office. Justice Minister Gideon Sa'ar, who was still in the Channel 12 studio, responded: "If this is true, this is a very serious thing. It is absolutely forbidden to conduct negotiations of this kind. The chance that such a claim, if it exists, will be answered is 0. I was the Minister of the Interior and therefore I can say that the chance is between 0 and 0, but it is forbidden to surrender every week to the reality of vote-buying by MKs who are members of the coalition. I oppose this and will not allow it." Coalition sources deny that MK Zoabi from Meretz demanded that 300 million shekels be transferred to the Arab authorities. "Zoabi did not demand anything - that is a complete lie," they said.