MK Ahmad Tibi of Hadash-Taa’l on Motzei Shabbos told Channel 12 News about the Arab Joint List’s cooperation with the Bennett-Lapid-Lieberman government prior to its dissolution, saying that the party “agreed to provide a safety net for the government in exchange for passing bills and budgets.”

“We agreed to provide a safety net to the Bennett-Lapid coalition,” he said. “We agreed to delay the elections for a month at their request. I notified the coalition twice…they asked for an extension until the recess. We agreed to allow an extension until the recess, a month and a half, and then they collapsed from within.”

“We should not have been offered anything in return. During that time we passed laws but we are the opposition. The fact that there are fascists in this government [the future right-wing government], does not mean that the previous government was all wonderful. We agreed to provide a month’s safety net for the government in exchange for passing bills and budgets.”

He added: “We were interested in elections in February-March. When a government destroys the Negev, finances settlements more than the previous government, and damages the Al-Aqsa Mosque, then I need to bail it out?”

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)