Israeli-Arab parties will boycott Pence in Knesset, calling him ‘dangerous, messianic’

The head of the Arab Joint List affirmed that all Arab parties will boycott US Vice President Mike Pence’s Knesset speech, calling him a “dangerous man with a messianic vision.”

By: Adina Katz, World Israel News

Ahead of Mike Pence’s arrival in Israel, Ayman Odeh, chairman of the Arab Joint List, affirmed that his party will boycott the US vice-president’s Knesset speech.

Last month, when President Donald Trump declared US recognition of Jerusalem as the Israeli capital, Odeh said the announcement will destroy any chance of peace.

“Trump is a pyromaniac who could set the entire region on fire with his madness,” Odeh stated at the time. “The last few days prove decisively that the United States cannot remain the sponsor or arbitrator in negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians,” he said, mirroring the statements made by Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, who has since declared the Oslo Accords null and void.

On Saturday, Odeh repeated his vitriol against the US administration, tweeting in Hebrew that Pence “is a dangerous man with a messianic vision, which includes the destruction of the entire region. He is coming as an emissary of an even more dangerous man: a political pyromaniac, a racist and a misogynist who must be prevented from trailblazing into our region. The entire Joint List will be boycotting his speech in the plenum.”

Odeh also suggested that the US recognize western Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and “East Jerusalem” for a future Palestinian state.

The American vice-president’s itinerary includes a visit to the Western Wall.

Pence is scheduled to arrive in Israel Sunday evening, after visiting Egypt and Jordan. He will not be meeting with the Palestinians, with whom relations have deteriorated over the last several months.