Arab public leaders: Disassociate yourselves completely from Hamas | Dan Perry

Dan Perry calls on Arab public leaders to define Hamas as a terrorist organization, arguing that their refusal to do so allows Netanyahu to portray a government relying on Arab support as illegitimate. He proposes joining Ra'am to the Eisenkot bloc and warns that political ambiguity weakens the chance for a change in government.

In an opinion piece, Dan Perry argues that Arab public leaders in Israel must completely disassociate themselves from Hamas and define it as a terrorist organization, in order to enable the formation of a government led by Gadi Eisenkot that relies on Arab parliamentary support. Perry notes that Arab citizens of Israel helped inflict an electoral defeat on Benjamin Netanyahu, but the fear of Arab ambiguity toward Hamas allows Netanyahu to portray such a government as illegitimate. He proposes joining the Ra'am party of Mansour Abbas to the Eisenkot bloc, and notes that even without the support of the Joint List, a government can be formed with 56 versus 53 votes. Perry describes an interview with Yosef Jabareen, a senior member of the Joint List, who refused to define Hamas as a terrorist organization despite condemning its crimes. The article emphasizes that such a definition does not require support for Israeli policy or a waiver of Palestinian rights, and that it is necessary for building trust with the Jewish public.