Ra’am party chairman, Knesset member Mansour Abbas, launched his party’s election campaign, together with the southern branch of the Islamic Movement, in the city of Rahat, presenting the upcoming Knesset elections as a struggle over the future of Arab society in Israel.
During the event, Abbas emphasized the importance of support from Negev residents for his party, saying Ra’am seeks to renew its political alliance with the Arab public in the region. According to him, this alliance is essential for maintaining the party’s influence and advancing the interests of Negev residents.
In a sharp message to his political rivals, Abbas said: “We will treat as enemies those who treat the residents of the Negev as enemies." He claimed that Ra’am and the Islamic Movement are working to strengthen the status of Arab citizens and improve their living conditions.
He added that around 80 percent of Arab residents in the Negev currently vote for Ra’am, but the party’s goal in the upcoming elections is to increase the number of votes in the region from 80,000 to 100,000.
Abbas explained that increasing the party’s electoral power would, in his words, enable the replacement of the Netanyahu-Smotrich-Ben Gvir coalition.
He stressed that this is a “war of existence," in which Ra’am will work to preserve the existence of the Arab presence and protect the rights and dignity of Arab residents.
Abbas also pledged that Ra’am and the Islamic Movement will not make any decisions without prior consultation with the council of unrecognized villages and landowners.