MK Iman Khatib Yassin's unfortunate statement doomed her future parliamentary and political fate, and the anger of Ra'am, members of the Islamic Movement, was not hidden, but was said from every possible platform. This is not accidental. For more than three decades, the Southern Islamic Movement, which has been trying to convey moderation towards the Jewish public in Israel, has been trying to be accepted in the corridors of politics and religion in the country, and it has almost succeeded in being an alternative to all the Arab, secular and liberal parties.
Members of the Southern Islamic Movement, which is the only component of Ra'am, the United Arab List, were quick to strongly condemn the remarks made by MK Khatib, a social worker by profession and a feminist activist. They expressed their resentment to her for the statement, and even apologized instead and demanded that she resign. When they sought to explore the possibility of impeaching her, they were blocked by the law. It is no coincidence that Ra'am Chairman Mansour Abbas hastened a day later to meet in the Knesset with representatives of the families of the abductees. This is the first meeting of an Arab MK with Jewish families whose sons are held by Hamas.
It is already clear that Ra'am Chairman MK Mansour Abbas, with the support of the leadership of the Southern Islamic Movement, will still settle accounts with MK Khatib, just as he did with other rivals in Arab politics, such as MK Ayman Odeh. All this in an attempt to prove the sincerity of his intentions towards Israel and Jewish society, especially now after the October massacre.
The panic and fear of members of the Islamic Movement were not only Abbas' lot. Even among many in the senior leadership of the Southern Islamic Movement, which is based and led in the city of Kafr Qasim and tries to portray itself as having a humane approach and connections and connections with Jewish bodies and organizations, and even in the dialogue that some clerics and sheikhs conduct with senior rabbis in Israel from various streams.
Most of the Jewish public in Israel is not familiar with the nuances and differences between the Southern Islamic Movement and other political or religious movements, and Ra'am tries to mention their real attempt to integrate into Israeli politics, which peaked when they joined Bennett's government two years ago.
The splitting of the Islamic Movement into two movements in the early 90s, into an outlawed northern movement and a southern movement, occurred against the background of the desire of the southerners to run for the Knesset – which was perceived by the leader of the north, Sheikh Raed Salah, as legitimizing Israel.
It is no coincidence that Ra'am Chairman Mansour Abbas hastened a day later to meet in the Knesset with representatives of the families of the abductees. This is the first meeting between an Arab MK and Jewish families whose sons are held by Hamas
The main concern is that Khatib's statement will be exploited by political elements in Israel, who will try to make a direct connection between the Southern Movement, as a Muslim Brotherhood movement, and Hamas, considered by many to be a "sister movement."
In normal times, the Southern Movement maintained contacts with senior figures in Hamas' political leadership, and more than once senior figures in the Southern Movement were asked to convey messages from Israel to Hamas members, and not only responded positively but did so with great success, which perhaps explains the importance of the Islamic Movement's role in the Israeli security community.
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