Mansour Abbas is doing everything he can. Anyone who has followed his texts since the outbreak of the war can easily devote himself to his messages.
Last week he convened a meeting of the faction and the media and made important remarks, condemned the heinous acts committed on 7 October and asked the Arab-Israeli public to show responsibility, maintain public order, not resort to physical, verbal or written violence, beware of incitement and not damage public and private property.
"They didn't slaughter babies, at least from what was in the movie, and they didn't rape women" – MK Iman Khatib Yassin of Ra'am responds to the events of October 7. When asked if she had watched the film shown to MKs: "I can't watch, I heard firsthand@khatib_eman @mazalm3 pic.twitter.com/5vCQgQvV0Z
— Knesset Channel (@KnessetT) November 5, 2023
Abbas spoke about living together, saying: "It will not be easy to build trust in today's circumstances, but we have no other choice." But the outrageous mistrust is created by members of his own party.
Not the first problematic statement
For example, his number two and faction chairman, Walid Taha, chose only two weeks ago, when a rocket launched by Hamas exploded at the hospital in Gaza, to adopt the false narrative that Israel attacked the site.
Taha, a member of the Israeli parliament, wrote on his Facebook page: "The United Islamic Movement condemns the massacre at Al Madani Hospital in Gaza, and demands an end to the war and humanitarian aid."
MK Walid Taha against Matan Kahane, photo: Oren Ben Hakon
This is a text that hurts Israeli ears. It added that they condemned "the despicable massacre that left hundreds of martyrs and wounded in the bombing of Baptist Square and the hospital in Gaza."
Even more infuriating is the fact that even though within hours it was proven beyond a reasonable doubt that the attack on the hospital was carried out by Hamas members, the MK's post was not deleted, and still appears on his Facebook page.
This is not Taha's first problematic statement. When the IDF launched Operation Shield and Arrow, the Knesset member claimed that it was a "politics of bloodshed," that it was Almog Cohen and Ben-Gvir's threats about the need for such an operation that led to it, and that "Palestinian blood is the price of Ben-Gvir and Cohen."
And it's not that Taha is the only one. A member of Knesset from the same party, who goes by the name Yasser Hojirat, stood on the Knesset podium on 16 October and called the Hamas murderers, who had been planning the operation for a year while being distracted by the rioters on the fence, as "the youth of the fence in the West Bank and Gaza, who must be given a horizon."
An exception in his party. Ra'am Chairman Mansour Abbas,
If that were not enough, he sought to stop the provocations from "both sides" (!), as if murder, cruelty, abuse, rape and kidnapping were the lot of Israelis and Arabs alike.
Everyone absorbs the damage
Even if Mansour Abbas is a groundbreaking man of peace, the real fear is that Islamist ideology is hiding in the row of chairs of his party colleagues. Behind his beautiful face and lip candy sit people with shocking anti-Israel messages.
Two instances of extreme statements were made yesterday by politicians. One by MK Iman Khatib Yassin of Ra'am, and the other by Minister Amichai Eliyahu. As tempting as it is, they can't be compared. Minister Amichai Eliyahu sought to destroy the enemy, MK Khatib Yassin sought to strengthen the enemy.
There is one thing in common between the statements: both require a harsher response than they received yesterday. Elijah's statement is unnecessary, stupid, harmful and irresponsible. Despite the punishment imposed on him – suspension from government meetings – Eliahu had already voted as part of a government vote. Abbas can't fire his MK either, and everyone suffers the damage.
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