Netanyahu says Israel ‘belongs to Jewish people alone’ in attack on nation’s Arab population

Embattled Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said the country is “not a state of all its citizens” in yet another apparent attempt to win extremist anti-Arab support ahead of the upcoming general election.

The comments, made on Facebook, were a direct reference to the country’s 1.6 million Arabs, who make up almost a fifth of the population.

“Israel is not a state of all its citizens,” he wrote in response to comments from the TV host Rotem Sela. “According to the basic nationality law we passed, Israel is the nation state of the JEWISH people – and only it.”

He added: “There is no problem with the Arab citizens of Israel. They have equal rights like all of us.”

But, ahead of a later cabinet meeting, he reiterated the point further, saying Israel was “a nation state not of all its citizens but only of the Jewish people”, reports the Agence France-Presse news agency.

The comments will be seen as a naked attempt to court both his own nationalist base and far-right extremists, as polls suggest he is in danger of being unseated by a centrist alliance in the 9 April poll.

But, ahead of a later cabinet meeting, he reiterated the point further, saying Israel was “a nation state not of all its citizens but only of the Jewish people”, reports the Agence France-Presse news agency.

The comments will be seen as a naked attempt to court both his own nationalist base and far-right extremists, as polls suggest he is in danger of being unseated by a centrist alliance in the 9 April poll.