Yisrael Beytenu, UTJ trade barbs over request to bar candidacy of Arab MK

Lawmakers from the Yisrael Beytenu and United Torah Judaism trade accusations over a request to disqualify an Arab MK from running in the upcoming elections for her alleged support of terror.

Yisrael Beytenu MK Oded Forer shares an article from Actualic, an ultra-Orthodox new site, quoting an unnamed UTJ source saying the party would not participate in Central Elections Committee hearings on Joint List MK Heba Yazbak’s candidacy.

“For whoever was anxious, the deal between United Torah Judaism and the Arab parties is alive and well. The main thing is that the [Knesset] Finance Committee will stay in the hands of MK [Moshe] Gafni with the help of [Ahmad] Tibi and Bibi [Netanyahu],” tweets Forer.

Gafni, the No. 2 in UTJ, hits back at Forer.

“Yisrael Beytenu continues to spread lies. We’re fed up, the public is fed up,” he is quoted saying by Army Radio.

The secularist Yisrael Beytenu and the ultra-Orthodox UTJ have been key parts of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s past governments, but the parties fell out after elections in April over legislation to boost ultra-Orthodox conscription and other matters of religion and state, preventing the premier from putting together a ruling majority in the Knesset.

After a second round of elections in September, Yisrael Beytenu ruled out joining a Netanyahu-led government that included religious parties or one headed by Blue and White chair Benny Gantz that was backed by the Joint List, whose lawmakers have been called a “fifth column” by party leader Avigdor Liberman.

Blue and White is expected to back the request to bar Yazbak from running, which is set to be filed by Likud MK Ofir Katz this week.