MK Ahmed Tibi, leader of the Arab-Israeli leftist Taal party, spoke about the upcoming elections on Sunday evening in i24 News, taking the opportunity to claim that 90% of weapons in Arab towns used in local violence “are being transferred from IDF bases.”
Speaking about his party, Tibi explained that they “are dealing with the issues of violence, crime, killing, and weapons in all aspects: In the Knesset, meeting with the Minister of Internal Security [Gilad] Erdan, with the general commissioner, police forces... and on the ground, asking the police to take weapons out of Arab villages.”
 
“You know what the main source of these weapons in Arab towns is?” he asked. “IDF bases.”
Tibi began the interview by insisting that he is not going to be a part of any coalition. He did, however, make a brief statement of endorsement, saying, “I do not know who will be the opposite to [Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu. I am not going to mention names. I hope it will be [Meretz leader Tamar] Zandberg.”
Tibi additionally criticized former IDF chief-of-staff Benny Gantz’s recent campaign video for his Israel Resilience Party within which he listed his military successes.
“I did not like at all the video that was published by Gantz, counting how many Palestinians he killed and how many Palestinian houses in Gaza he destroyed,” said Tibi. “It was terrible.”
“I cannot be part of a government making, for example, a decision to attack Gaza or to support settlements,” said Tibi. “It is called collective responsibility. I can’t be part of any collective responsibility.”
MK Tibi has been in the Knesset since 1999 and previous served as a political advisor to PLO founder Yasser Arafat.