“Mansour Abbas is a dangerous enemy, a wolf in sheep’s clothing,” Smotrich wrote.
By United with Israel staff
Ra’am chairman Mansour Abbas said Israel’s Jewish character is a reality that was “forced upon” Arab citizens and that Arab political parties have had to accept it in practice to avoid being disqualified from participating in elections.
Abbas made the comments in an Arabic-language post Wednesday in which he sought to clarify his positions on Israel’s identity, the Palestinian narrative and the Nakba following criticism over recent remarks.
“The Jewish character of the state is an existing reality that was forced upon us, and not something we chose,” Abbas wrote. “It is the choice of the Jewish majority, not a demand of ours.”
“Arab parties were forced to accept this in practical terms, because otherwise they could be disqualified from running in Knesset elections and local elections,” he continued.
Abbas said his political priorities center on strengthening the position of Israel’s Arab community, securing what he described as its national and civil rights, and gaining political influence within the government rather than remaining solely in the parliamentary opposition.
“Our priority is to focus on strengthening our status and achieving our national and civil rights, to play a political role in government and not settle for parliamentary representation in the opposition alone, to advance the interests of our society and prevent harm to it,” he wrote.
“Our position regarding the Palestinian people’s right to self-determination and recognition of a Palestinian state alongside the State of Israel is well known,” he added.
Abbas also pushed back against claims that he had abandoned or denied the Palestinian narrative after saying in a recent interview that he would not today repeat a past statement accusing “Zionist gangs” of conquering Palestine.
“The claim that I deny the Nakba, the displacement and the Palestinian narrative, is another fabrication,” Abbas wrote.
He said that changing the language and political approach he uses today does not mean abandoning those views.
“When I say that today, and especially since we presented our approach of partnership and influence in recent years, I formulate my statements, ideas and political approach differently, that does not mean that I deny the Nakba, the displacement or the Palestinian narrative,” he said.
Abbas went on to refer to what he called “our ongoing Nakba,” arguing that a different political strategy could help address what he described as historical injustices and prevent future displacement.
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich responded sharply on X, accusing Abbas of concealing his true objectives.
“This is a fundamental element of the Muslim Brotherhood’s method: They hide the real goal, accumulate power, and use it for the real goal, jihad and the elimination of the ‘infidels,’ with an emphasis on the Jews and the State of Israel,” Smotrich wrote.
“Mansour Abbas is a dangerous enemy, a wolf in sheep’s clothing,” he added, accusing political opponents who remain open to forming a government with Abbas of displaying “dangerous blindness.”
Former IDF Brig. Gen. Ofer Winter, who on Tuesday launched his new right-wing Amcha Yisrael party, also responded to Abbas’s remarks, saying anyone who refuses to recognize Israel as a Jewish state should not be eligible to serve in the Knesset.
“Anyone who does not recognize the State of Israel as a Jewish state can go to whichever Arab country he wants,” Winter said. “And such a person certainly must not be allowed to be elected to Israel’s Knesset.”
“It’s time to understand: What was will be no more,” he added.
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