Ra’am party to convene over future in Israel’s coalition gov't
'We have suffered enough from the criminal [Israeli] government. The al-Aqsa Mosque is a red line'
The Supreme Council of Israel’s Islamist Ra’am party convened on Sunday to resolve a dispute within the party – whether to stay in the coalition government or resign over Israeli-Palestinian clashes in Jerusalem.
Violent incidents between Palestinian demonstrators and Israeli authorities at Jerusalem’s Temple Mount prompted Ra’am members to call for the party’s withdrawal.
Ra’am party chief Mansour Abbas said Saturday, though, that he does not intend to create a crisis nor dismantle Israel’s government, and will try to persuade the council not to make a dramatic decision.
“We have a historic opportunity, and we want to use it for good,” Abbas said, The Jerusalem Post reported.
“Of course for the Arab sector, but also for the good of Israel’s population,” he added.
An option being considered is to temporarily freeze Ra’am participation until further notice, according to Channel 12 News.
Abbas reportedly prefers to “smear the time” until tensions in Jerusalem calm down, and is working to secure the backing of as many party members as possible so any decision will be made on behalf of his standing.
While Abbas is the party chief, he is obliged to implement any decision made by the council.
Within the Islamist party’s Supreme Council, there is a serious rift between Abbas’s mainstream and the Muslim cleric of Ra’am Sheikh Mohammad Salameh Hassan, who called for the party to retire, Channel 12 reported.
“We have suffered enough from the criminal [Israeli] government. The al-Aqsa Mosque is a red line and the Jews have no ownership of it,” Hassan said.