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Israeli Arabs to Boycott Vote in PM Election
Israeli Arabs will neither vote for Ehud Barak, the caretaker prime minister, nor Ariel Sharon, leader of the rightwing Likud party in the prime ministerial election on February 6, Israeli Arab member of Knesset (parliament) Azmi Bishara said on Sunday.
Bishara, who was in Cairo for a seminar on Israeli politics and its influence on foreign policy, said that Israeli Arab voters opt to boycott the election because they thought that the two candidates represent only a "bad or worse" choice for the Palestinians, Egypt's Middle East News Agency reported.
"There is a popular view among Israeli Arabs not to vote for Barak nor for Sharon," he said, adding that the Islamic Movement and the Democratic Union, two Israeli Arab parties, also have decided to boycott the election.
Arabs blame Barak for the nearly four months of clashes between Israeli troops and Palestinians, which have killed not only more than 350 Palestinians but also a handful of Israeli Arabs who held demonstrations in October in support of the Palestinian Intifada (uprising), Bishara said.
The clashes were triggered by a provocative visit by Sharon to Al Aqsa mosque compound, an Islamic holy site in East Jerusalem, on September 28.
Israeli Arabs traditionally support the left-wing Labor Party and Barak was elected prime minister in 1999 largely due to their support.
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