Hamas Leader in Gaza Slams Islamist Party That Joined Israel’s Government

Yahya Sinwar launches a scathing attack on the United Arab List-Ra'am party and its leader, Mansour Abbas, calling membership in the ruling coalition an ‘unforgiveable crime’

Hamas’ leader in the Gaza Strip, Yahya Sinwar, slammed Mansour Abbas, the head of the United Arab List-Ra’am party, during a weekend address.

Sinwar launched a stinging attack on Abbas, saying in a televised speech on Saturday that the safety net that the list gives the Israeli government – of which Ra’am is a member, constitutes an unforgivable crime. The Hamas leader described the membership of Ra’am in the government coalition as a denial of the religion and Arab identity of its members.

Sinwar called Abbas “Abu Righal” – a legendary traitor in pre-Islamic legend.

“That you serve as a support to this government which violates Al-Aqsa is an unforgivable crime,” Sinwar said.

The criticism comes after weeks of tension and violence inside the Al-Aqsa compound in Jerusalem, the third holiest site in Islam, as Palestinians have complained that Israel is trying to change the status quo that has been in place since 1967, after Israel captured east Jerusalem and the West Bank during the Six-Day War.

As part of the status quo, Palestinians assert that only Muslims have the right to pray at the compound, also known as the Temple Mount, which was home to two ancient Jewish temples and is said to be the holiest site for Jews.

Israel denies that it allows Jewish visitors to pray there.

Abbas is in a dilemma over his participation in the government. We have seen the settlers and the police together violate the Al-Aqsa Mosque, and this is causing popular anger and pressure on Abbas.

Dr. Salim Brake, a lecturer at the University of Haifa, and at the Open University, told The Media Line that this criticism by Sinwar will “have a huge impact” on Mansour Abbas’ political future.

“Abbas is in a dilemma over his participation in the government,” Brake said. “We have seen the settlers and the police together violate the Al-Aqsa Mosque, and this is causing popular anger and pressure on Abbas.”

Brake says if Abbas decides to pull out of the government coalition without any accomplishments it will be “considered political suicide because there are no real achievements on the ground, and the disintegration of this government before any achievement will end Abbas’ pragmatic approach.”

Ra’am earlier this month suspended its membership in the government coalition after the recent clashes between Palestinians and Israel Police officers at the Al-Aqsa Mosque. On Friday, the Hebrew-language Zman Yisrael news website reported that Abbas and Israel’s Foreign Minister Yair Lapid agreed that Ra’am will resume voting with the coalition after the Knesset recess ends on May 9.

Through Ra’am, Israel’s coalition government has the support of the southern Islamic Movement, and some of its senior officials have ties with their counterparts in Hamas. Both groups are considered arms of the Muslim Brotherhood movement.

Abbas responded to Sinwar’s harsh comments, saying in an interview with Israel’s Channel 12 that his party works for the benefit of the Arab community and the Palestinian people. Abbas added that the partnership his list has with the government helps to achieve peace.

In his first major public appearance in almost a year, Sinwar addressed Abbas, saying: “Your formation of a safety net for a government that violates Al-Aqsa is a crime that we cannot forgive you for and it is a denial of your religion and your Arabism.”

In the over-hour-long address, Sinwar demanded “the brothers in the southern Islamic movement to withdraw from the occupation government, and not to be satisfied with suspending participation.”

He added: “We call on the United Arab List to take a decision today to withdraw from the Israeli government, and denying the definition of Israel as an apartheid state and saying that it is the state of the Jews is the pinnacle of decline.”

Dr. Mosheer Amer,  a political analyst based in Gaza, told The Media Line that in the current politically inflamed atmosphere, Sinwar wanted to deliver a “harsh message of protest. It is a kind of vitriolic criticism and reprimand, and what Sinwar wants from Abbas is for him to withdraw from this government.”

“Mansour Abbas is a partner in the Bennett government, which is an extreme right-wing Zionist government, and Abbas bears responsibility for the government’s policy toward Al-Aqsa Mosque and Jerusalem in general,” Mosheer Amer said.

He added that what Sinwar wants from Abbas is to “work to exert pressure on the government to prevent violations against Al-Aqsa Mosque.”

But the pressure on Abbas is also internal, from within both Ra’am and the outlawed northern Islamic branch.

“I do not agree that the Joint Arab List is an Islamic movement, and I do not know about an Islamic movement that is a partner in an occupation government. This is illogical and I do not know what kind of Islam they are adopting and what political program they are adopting,” said Mosheer Amer.

Brake says that a large percentage of the Arab community is attacking Abbas as a result of what is happening in the Al-Aqsa Mosque, and that this government, which is supported by the United Arab List headed by Abbas, harms sacred Islamic entities and he is unable to do anything.

“The pragmatic approach of Mansour Abbas is the heart of the problem – he wants to change the approach of the Muslim Brotherhood movement and also with the northern Islamic movement, which advocates boycotting Israeli politics and they say there is no discourse with the Zionist movement,” Brake said.

Mansour Abbas is a partner in the Bennett government, which is an extreme right-wing Zionist government, and Abbas bears responsibility for the government’s policy toward Al-Aqsa Mosque and Jerusalem in general

Abbas disagrees; he says that the Arab citizens of Israel must have representatives in the Knesset to take care of the affairs of the citizens.

“Since Abbas and the United Arab List are part of this coalition, he bears the same responsibility as government ministers such as Gideon Sa’ar and Benny Gantz,” Brake said.

Abbas suspended his block’s participation in the coalition and demanded that the government meet its demands, including guarantees from the prime minister that the government would stop Jewish visitors from entering the Al-Aqsa Mosque.

In an interview with Israel’s Channel 12, Abbas dismissed Sinwar’s abrasive criticism, saying that: “No one can tell us what we should do. No one has the right to talk to us about Al-Aqsa Mosque.”

The Islamic Movement in Israel split into two branches in 1996 over the question of whether to put up candidates for election in the Israel’s parliament, the Knesset. The southern branch chose to participate in the Israeli political system and formed the Ra’am party. The northern branch chose to boycott the political system and elections.

In November 2015, Israel’s government outlawed the northern Islamic Movement led by Sheikh Raed Salah. Its deputy leader Kamal al-Khatib was arrested by the Israel Police in May 2021 and subsequently indicted for “incitement to terrorism, violence, and identification with a terrorist organization” related to widespread protests by Palestinian citizens of Israel. Salah also has been arrested and imprisoned on several occasions.