Arab legislator may cooperate with Netanyahu’s government
Back in the opposition, Ra’am leader Mansour Abbas says that the most important thing right now is to seek solutions for the miseries of the Israeli Arab public.
BAQA AL-GHARBIYYE, Israel — Ra’am party head Mansour Abbas attacked the leaders of rival Arab party Hadash-Ta'al, claiming they only seek to offer a "good show" from the Knesset podium. Abbas argued that Hadash-Ta'al leader Ayman Odeh and lawmaker Ahmad Tibi were responsible for the collapse of the former government, thus enabling returned Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to win the Nov. 1 elections.
Abbas lashed out at his rivals, saying, "If they are not interested in joining the coalition and not functioning as a blocking bloc, at least they should be neutral and try to promote solutions to the hardships of Arab society."
This is not the first time Abbas has raised such accusations against other Arab Knesset members. He holds that his place in the last government's coalition was an opportunity to help the Arab sector. Hadash-Ta’al, however, has no desire to participate in any Israeli government that does not advance the two-state solution.
Another example of this divergence in views could be seen last week, when National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir ascended Temple Mount. Hadash-Ta’al had frequently spoken out against incidents at Al-Aqsa compound during the Bennett-Lapid government. Each time, it accused Abbas of bearing responsibility for what happened, since his party was part of the ruling coalition. Ra’am is no longer a member of the coalition, but Ben-Gvir still visited the site. This raises an important question: How exactly did bringing down the previous government lead to some improvement of the situation?
