PA daily op-ed calls on Israeli Arabs to vote in Israeli elections; claims Israel will carry out ethnic cleansing and Arab crime gangs are on Israel’s payroll

Excerpt of op-ed by Omar Hilmi Al-Ghoul, regular columnist for the official PA daily

Headline: "Your voice is your gamble on the future"

"As the 22nd Israeli Parliament elections draw near, which are expected to take place on Sept. 17 [2019], there is an urgent need to turn to our Palestinian people in the Galilee (i.e., in southern Israel), Triangle (i.e., a concentration of Israeli-Arab towns and villages in northern Israel), Negev (i.e., in southern Israel), and mixed cities in order to motivate them to take part in the election campaign and to prepare seriously to go to the polls…

The personal and public interest of every Palestinian in the Interior (i.e., Israel) obligates them to go to the polls and overcome the flaws and missteps of the representatives of the Joint [Arab] List…

However, if the Arab Palestinian refrains from voting under the pressure of various reasons and excuses… the consequences will be twice [as bad] for all Palestinians without exception, including:

1. The racism and hatred will become crueler, and the position of the Zionist fascist forces in the composition of the next government will grow stronger. The [Jewish] Nation-State Basic Law (see note below –Ed.) will be implemented, and ethnic cleansings will be committed against the people in historical Palestine, especially in the Galilee, Triangle, Negev, and mixed cities…
2. The absence of the Arab Palestinian voice means the absence of a political platform and demands, marginalization of the Palestinian-Arab national experience, a deepening of the rift and division within the Palestinian sector, a rise in the cases of assassination and murder, and the spread of the weapons of the [Arab] mafias and gangs, who receive salaries from the Israeli security forces and cooperate with them. It will also whet the appetite of the extremist Zionist forces to commit the ugliest crimes of terror against all of the [Palestinian] people in the Interior and in the territories of the State of Palestine that were occupied in 1967 (i.e., the PA's territory)."

Jewish Nation-State Law – law passed by the Israeli Parliament on July 19, 2018, which codifies in Israel's Basic Law that Israel is the home of the Jewish nation with Jerusalem its capital, and the Hebrew calendar its official calendar. It establishes Hebrew as the sole official language and grants Arabic a special status, and it recognizes Jewish and Israeli holidays, memorial days, and the Jewish Sabbath as national holidays and days of rest - while guaranteeing the right of all Israeli citizens and residents to celebrate their holidays and days of rest. The law, which passed with 62 in favor, 55 against, and 2 abstentions, has sparked controversy within Israeli society.