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Arab-Israeli politicos call IDF operations ‘bloody policies of revenge’

The Balad Party accuses Jerusalem of "insane, vengeful mentality," and accuses the IDF of intentionally targeting civilians.

Knesset member Sami Abou Shahadeh of the Balad Party. Source: Facebook.
Knesset member Sami Abou Shahadeh of the Balad Party. Source: Facebook.

Israel’s Balad Party on Monday condemned Israel’s military operation against Hezbollah in Lebanon and called for an immediate stop to “Israeli aggression” in both Lebanon and Gaza.

The far-left, secular Arab party, the Hebrew name of which is an acronym for National Democratic Assembly, claimed in a statement that Israel was targeting civilians in its expanding aerial assault on Hezbollah.

“What we witnessed today in terms of bombing and targeting civilians is a small introduction to the crimes that Israel is expected to commit in this aggression. We strongly condemn this war, and call for it to stop immediately to avoid more innocent victims,” the statement read.

Balad accused Israel’s leadership of being consumed by an “insane, vengeful mentality” and called for an immediate halt to operations in Lebanon and “the war of extermination” in Gaza, and for a comprehensive ceasefire deal.

Party head Sami Abou Shahadeh tweeted on Tuesday against what he called the “destruction,” “revenge” and “blind support” of opposition leaders for a war he termed “unnecessary.”

“How many innocent people is Israel allowed to kill in Lebanon and Gaza? How much destruction and revenge will satisfy Israel’s desire for retribution? Where is this all leading to? And when will Israel realize that there are no military solutions,” he wrote.

Due to its extremist positions, Balad has twice been disqualified from running for Knesset seats by Israel’s Central Elections Committee, most recently in 2022. The Supreme Court overturned both bans.

According to most polls, Balad is not expected to pass the minimum electoral threshold of 3.25% required to enter the Knesset in the next election.

Members of another Arab-Israeli party, Hadash-Ta’al, also joined the denunciations against Israel. Party head MK Ayman Odeh tweeted on Monday, “The third Lebanon war of the government of destruction and killing will not bring security.”

MK Aida Touma-Sliman, also of Hadash-Ta’al, called the IDF strikes against Hezbollah a “massacre in Lebanon.”

“How much more blood will be spilled until they realize here that war will not bring any security,” she tweeted on Monday.

Touma-Sliman has justified Hamas’s actions against Israel. In a panel discussion on June 2 in Vienna hosted by the KPÖ, the Communist Party of Austria, she said, “When you are under occupation, you have the right to defend yourself from occupation, and only those who are under occupation decide how to do it.

“I might observe it and say what I think about those practices, but I’m not the one to decide. I am against continuous occupation. If this is supporting terror, I don’t know what does [sic] you mean by terror.”

On Oct. 7 of last year, Hamas rampaged across southern Israel in a spree of rape and murder, killing 1,200 people, mostly civilians, including men, women, children and the elderly, and kidnapping 251.

Hezbollah began launching cross-border attacks on Israel on Oct. 8, which have continued nearly daily since, forcing the evacuation of some 60,000 Israeli citizens from northern parts of the country.

Last week, Israel declared the evacuees’ return a central war aim. To realize that goal, this week the Israeli Air Force carried out more than 1,600 targeted strikes against Hezbollah, an Iranian proxy.

The Israeli military has issued thousands of warnings to Lebanese civilians to flee areas known to house Hezbollah weapons caches, via telephone, the internet and radio.

The terror group stores missile stockpiles and launchers in civilian neighborhoods and buildings, endangering Lebanon’s civilian populace, according to the Israel Defense Forces.

The Israeli Prime Minister emphasized in a video statement directed to the Lebanese people on Monday that “Israel’s war is not with you, it’s with Hezbollah.”

Hezbollah claimed on Tuesday that it was fighting the Jewish state not just in solidarity with Hamas but also “in defense of Lebanon and its people.”

Hezbollah has been criticized in the past by Lebanese public figures that it is dragging the country into a war that is not in its national interests but rather serves the interests of Iran. However, little can be done against the terror group, which is well-entrenched in Lebanese government and society.

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