A recording obtained by Kan News reveals the extent of the influence that United Arab List chairman MK Mansour Abbas had on the outgoing government and prime minister.
In the recording, the head of the Negev Bedouin Development Authority, Yair Ma'ayan, can be heard describing a tender, issued last year, for 400 housing units in the Bedouin town of Rahat. A third of all the units were designated for Bedouin IDF soldiers. But after the mayor of Rahat, Faiz Abu Sahiban contacted Mansour Abbas, the latter stepped in and appealed to the office of hen-Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and the secretary of the government Shalom Shlomo.
Ma'ayan can be heard in the recording stating: "The mayor of Rahat wrote on Facebook that thanks to his efforts and contacting Mansour Abbas, there will be no priority [housing] for soldiers in Rahat. And instead of 30%, we lowered it to 10%." Ma'ayan claimed that Abbas contacted the Prime Minister's Office and the secretary of the government Shalom Shlomo, and as a result, the perk for the soldiers was canceled. The Israel Land Administration claims that it made sure to add land and so in fact the soldiers retained the perk. But at that point, according to Ma'ayan, the mayor attempted to reduce the amount of land for soldiers and even called Abbas with Ma'ayan present.
In response to the report, the Prime Minister's Office commented: "Blatant lies. The secretary of the government did not at all deal with this matter, and there was no conversation between him and MK Mansour Abbas or Yair Ma'ayan regarding the matter at hand."
The mayor of Rahat Faiz Abu Sahiban commented: "Yair Ma'ayan is a liar. I requested that they also give land to Bedouins from Rahat who are above the age of 40."
Yair Ma'ayan himself stated: "I am proud to stand firmly with my brothers at arms, the Bedouin soldiers, and protect the government-mandated rights."
The Israel Land Administration stated: "This is nonsense made up by Yair Ma'ayan, who tried to be appointed as the manager of the Israel Land Authority and was turned away because he did not qualify."
Naftali Bennett and Mansour Abbas declined to comment.