As elections approach, MK Mansour Abbas, the head of the United Arab List (Ra'am) party, continues to discuss his desire for full integration into Israeli society, yet makes no attempt to conceal what he describes as his identity as a Palestinian-Arab who holds a blue ID card (as a resident of Jerusalem).
Abbas was interviewed by Yediot Aharonot and asked if he experienced distress during the IDF's most recent operation in Gaza, when Israeli Air Force planes bombed various sites there. "Of course," responded Abbas. "There's no question. My identity is very clear: I am an Arab and a Palestinian."
"I want the Palestinian people to have the right of self-determination," he added, "and to realize our potential and establish a state alongside the State of Israel. This is the vision I am always working toward - that we should live in cooperation with security, peace, and tolerance."
During the same interview, Abbas also revealed that even during Operation Guardian of the Walls in May, 2021, he was negotiating with then-Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu regarding the establishment of a government that would rely on the Ra'am party in the Knesset. According to Abbas, he and Netanyahu held a number of meetings at the Prime Minister's Resident on Balfour Street, Jerusalem.
"We continued negotiations for around two months," Abbas related, "from the time of the elections until the new government was formed. I was offered a coalition deal several times. I maintained ties with Netanyahu throughout Operation Guardian of the Walls; I was present at three meetings at Balfour during that operation."