Mansour Abbas brings Palestinian statehood into election pitch, drawing rebukes from Eisenkot, Netanyahu
Ra’am leader, whose party made history by joining an Israeli governing coalition, calls for recognition of Palestine and an ‘end to the occupation’ as he seeks a role in the next government
Ra’am chairman Mansour Abbas on Saturday put Palestinian statehood at the center of an election-season speech, declaring that “the State of Palestine exists” and calling for an “end to the occupation,” drawing immediate rebukes from opposition leader Gadi Eisenkot and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Speaking at Ra’am’s general conference, Abbas said Arab citizens of Israel could serve as “a bridge to peace,” adding: “The State of Palestine exists and is recognized by most of the world, except for the United States and Israel. We want them to recognize it too, and we are working to achieve peace and reconciliation, an end to the occupation, and an end to the conflict.”
Abbas coupled the appeal with another pitch for Arab participation in Israeli governments, saying Ra’am had “put Israeli democracy to a real test” and made the participation of an Arab party in a governing coalition “a political reality.” He also called for a new chapter in relations with Israel’s three other Arab parties, proposing cooperation and coordination before and after the election.
The emphasis on the Palestinian issue is notable for a politician who built his national profile around a pragmatic strategy of joining Israeli governing coalitions and prioritizing bread-and-butter concerns in Arab communities. In 2021, Abbas led Ra’am into the Bennett-Lapid coalition, making it the first party drawn from Israel’s Arab minority to formally join an Israeli government.
Eisenkot responded with a categorical rejection. “There is no Palestinian state, and under a government we form, no Palestinian state will be established,” he wrote on X. Eisenkot has repeatedly sought to distance himself during the campaign from proposals for Palestinian statehood.
Netanyahu seized on Abbas’s remarks to attack his political rivals. “As long as I am prime minister, there will be no Palestinian state controlled by Iran: not in Gaza, not in Judea and Samaria. Period,” he said.
“The cost of a left-wing coalition with the Muslim Brotherhood has been exposed again,” Netanyahu added, portraying Abbas as a prospective partner of Eisenkot, Avigdor Lieberman and Chili Tropper and accusing them of shunning Likud voters while courting support from Arab parties.