Former PM Bennett slams Arab MK for claiming Israel ‘murdered 50,000 civilians in Gaza’

More controversy erupted in Israel’s Knesset chamber, and on the internet on Wednesday, after Knesset Member Mansour Abbas suggested that Israel Defense Forces had “murdered” 50,000 civilians during the fighting in the Gaza Strip.

During a debate in the plenum, the chairman of the Islamist Ra’am Party responded to a Likud party member who shouted that Abbas intended to stop the war.

“Of course I want to stop the war,” Abbas retorted. “Fifty thousand civilians were murdered in the Gaza Strip. What do you want? Of course I want to stop the war.”

At this point, Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana intervened, telling Abbas that he was finished and asking Knesset security to removed him from the podium.

In the plenum, several MKs jumped up and began shouting at Abbas. Likud MK Tally Gotliv ran toward the podium, pointed at Abbas and called out, “If you call the soldiers murderers, you won’t be here!”

Former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, who in the past worked closely with Abbas, responded to his claim on 𝕏.

“Mansour, I will correct you. Fifty thousand people were not ‘murdered’ in Gaza. The IDF is eliminating vile terrorists who murdered, kidnapped and raped civilians on Oct. 7,” Bennett wrote.

“Sometimes these cowardly terrorists hide behind civilians, thereby causing their deaths. The IDF is a moral army.”

In 2021, politicians from across the political spectrum formed an unlikely coalition to oust Netanyahu, dubbed the “government of change.”

This included the right-wing, national-religious politician Bennett, as well as the Islamist Ra’am Party, the first time an Arab Israeli party became part of the Israeli government.

תגיד, זה אתה? pic.twitter.com/gqupzUQ4hG

— Michael Tsioni מיכאל ציוני (@MichaelTsioni) July 17, 2024

One man posted a picture of Bennett, Abbas and Yair Lapid under Bennett's post on 𝕏, asking ironically, "Say, is that you?"

The government coalition broke apart when MK Idit Silman defected from Bennett’s party to Likud. Silman joined in on the controversy on Wednesday, addressing Bennett on 𝕏: “Naftali, I will correct you.”

“We made a grave mistake by allowing the Muslim Brotherhood and parties that encourage terrorism to have their hands on the steering wheel of the country. These people succeeded only because of boycotts within Israel. Mansour’s heart is with the people of Gaza, while our hearts go out to the hostages and our soldiers,” Silman wrote.

Abbas has been harshly criticized in the past by the other Arab parties for entering the government, as well as statements seen as too pro-Israel.

Before joining Bennett, Abbas had been courted by Netanyahu and his Likud party. He condemned Arab riots in 2021, strongly spoke out against Hamas’ Oct. 7 massacre, and even sanctioned a member of his party after she doubted the atrocities committed by the terrorists.

However, Abbas has also called for a ceasefire during these past months and heads a party that has the same ideological roots as the Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas, standing for an ideology advocating more political influence for Islamic religious precepts.

In addition, Abbas’ claim of 50,000 killed is not even supported by Hamas’ own casualty figures which, at the moment, estimate some 40,000 dead, without differentiating between civilians and terrorists.

According to the IDF’s latest data, the military has eliminated and apprehended approximately 14,000 terrorists during the fighting in the Gaza Strip.