Ra'am Leader Mansour Abbas Drops Demand for Palestinian State Recognition in Coalition Talks

Mansour Abbas, chairman of the Ra'am party, informed leaders of the Israeli opposition bloc known as the "Change Bloc" that he will not demand recognition of a Palestinian state as part of coalition negotiations. Although Abbas stated that recognizing Palestine remains a fundamental principle of Ra'am, it will not be a political precondition for joining a government. This clarification followed his remarks at Ra'am's general conference in Tayibe, where he asserted that "the State of Palestine exists and is recognized worldwide except by the US and Israel." Abbas emphasized Ra'am's desire to promote peace between Israel and Palestine, describing Arab Palestinian citizens of Israel as a bridge to achieving peace.

Gadi Eizenkot, leader of the Democrats party, responded by affirming that "there is no Palestinian state, and in the government we form, no Palestinian state will be established." At the conference, Abbas declared Ra'am's goal to replace the current government and be part of a "change government," aiming to be the decisive bloc to ensure the right-wing's fall.

In parallel, Abbas reached a preliminary agreement with former Knesset member Yoav Segalovich regarding his inclusion on Ra'am's candidate list, with a meeting planned this week. Outstanding issues include Segalovich's request for some voting freedom on security matters and coordination during the campaign. Abbas noted that Ra'am has already selected its top five candidates and received approval from conference members to add more candidates within that top tier.