The chairman of the Ra'am party, MK Mansour Abbas, said on Thursday that he is staying in the government in order to take care of the needs of Arab society.
In an interview with Nasradio, Abbas said, "I could have disbanded the coalition a long time ago and emerged a Palestinian national hero, but I am a responsible leader who cares about the future of Arab society and Israeli society as a whole."
Abbas criticized Interior Minister Ayelet Shaked and said that "Ayelet Shaked is slow in implementing the plans and is cheap." He added: "I have spoken to [Palestinian Authority chairman] Mahmoud Abbas more than once recently."
The Ra’am party chairman explained why his party refused to vote this week in favor of the law to extend emergency regulations in Judea and Samaria. Reshet Bet radio had reported that Abbas said in conversations that the reason was the proximity of vote to the recent incidents on the Temple Mount, the Jerusalem Day celebrations and the Flag March that took place this week.
"It is impossible to support the Judea and Samaria Law so closely to the events of the march. We must create a separation for our public between the two things and not create a proximity between them. Next week is a new week and we will consider voting on the law in a different atmosphere," Abbas explained.
The coalition is seeking to bring to a vote in the Knesset the Judea and Samaria Law, which applies Israeli criminal law to the residents of the area and has to be approved every five years.
Meretz and Ra’am have voiced opposition for the bill, and are already upset that the government decided to support an opposition bill to ban the hoisting of PLO flags in universities.
Legal advisers in the Ministry of Justice have warned that if the Judea and Samaria Law is not passed, at least 250,000 residents of Judea and Samaria with the right to vote will not be able to vote in the elections in their place of residence.