Sometimes it seems that Israel takes the concept of democracy a bit too far. No other nation would tolerate a member of their parliament actively, and admittedly, trying to destroy it.Following are excerpts from an interview with Israeli Knesset Member Hanin Zoabi, which aired on Al-Hiwar TV on October 9, 2010:
Hanin Zoabi: The national plan of our party, the National Democratic Assembly, consists of a fully sovereign Palestinian state within the 1967 borders, and a non-Zionist “state of all its citizens” within the 1948 borders. Note this. In Israel they say to us: “Your solution is more dangerous than the one-state solution, because you want a state and a half.” In Israel they say that we want another Palestinian state. This is the plan of the Assembly Party: a fully sovereign Palestinian state within the 1967 borders, and a non-Zionist, non-Jewish state within the 1948 borders...
Interviewer: To which the refugees will return. That is an important condition.
Hanin Zoabi: This is a basic condition. Of course it includes the return of the refugees.
Interviewer: In other words, you oppose the so-called two-state solution.Hanin Zoabi: Ultimately, there will be two states, but not like Livni and Netanyahu want.
Interviewer: Nor the two-state solution of the PA...
Hanin Zoabi: No. Definitely not. Our solution is fundamentally different with regard to the 1948 borders.
[...
Our solution will open up the possibility for other solutions, which may later be imposed by the reality, like the solution of one binational state.
[...]
Interviewer: I would like to know how you, within the 1948 borders, view the PA. I would like an honest answer. Do you, Hanin Zoabi, say “President Shimon Peres” or “President Mahmoud Abbas”? Who would you describe more as your president?
Hanin Zoabi: Shimon Peres is not my president. There is no room for comparison. Despite all the political disagreements [with Mahmoud Abbas]...
It staggers the imagination. Zoabi should be in prison, not Knesset.