Mansour Abbas's message to the "change bloc": "We will not demand recognition of Palestine"

Ra'am party chairman Mansour Abbas conveyed a message to the heads of the change bloc that he will not demand recognition of Palestine as part of coalition negotiations, despite this being his principled position. Meanwhile, he has reached a preliminary agreement on the inclusion of former MK Yoav Segalovitz in the party's list. Gadi Eisenkot responded to Abbas, clarifying that no Palestinian state will be established in the government that will be formed.

Ra'am party chairman Mansour Abbas conveyed a clear message to the heads of the change bloc: he will not demand recognition of a Palestinian state, or similar wording, as part of the coalition negotiations. Abbas explained that although recognition of Palestine is a principled party position, it will not be translated into a practical political demand. Concurrently, Abbas reached a preliminary agreement with former MK Yoav Segalovitz on his inclusion in the Ra'am list, and the two are expected to meet this week. Points still to be finalized include Segalovitz's desire for certain voting freedom on security issues and joint conduct during the campaign. Abbas's message comes after he said yesterday at the party conference in Tayibe: "The State of Palestine is alive and existing, and the world recognizes it except for the United States and Israel." He emphasized that Ra'am wants to bring peace between Palestine and Israel, and that the Palestinian Arab citizens in Israel serve as a bridge to achieving peace. In response, Gadi Eisenkot replied to Abbas and clarified in a statement he published: "There is no Palestinian state, and in the government we will establish, no Palestinian state will be established." At the conference, Abbas declared that the list's position on the issue of governance is to replace "the fascist and racist government" with a government of change.