Mansour Abbas: A Security Opportunity for Israel

Look beyond a single headline to his actions, priorities, and the security benefits of Jewish–Arab political cooperation.

A November 5 Times of Israel headline focused on Ra’am leader Mansour Abbas’s refusal to call Hamas a terrorist organisation, citing his family’s safety and his wish to remain a bridge. That exchange deserves context. Abbas (not Mahmoud Abbas, aka Abu Mazen – president of the PA), has publicly condemned attacks on civilians, urged Palestinian armed groups to abandon violence and, this week, called for Hamas and other armed organizations to be disarmed.

Reducing his political record to a single contested word obscures a more fundamental issue: how can Israel turn Jewish–Arab cooperation into lasting security?

What Mansour Abbas said to Isaac Herzog

During his meeting with Israeli President Isaac Herzog, Mansour Abbas rejected terrorism and violence, supported a long-term outcome of a demilitarized two-state solution and called for Hamas and other armed groups to surrender their weapons. He said he wanted to remain able to influence people across the divide. His own words were, ‘We are a bridge. Let’s not destroy that bridge.’ The judgment should rest on his stated policies and political conduct, not on the assumption that declining one label means endorsing Hamas.

Evidence of Abbas-Ra’am’s Intensions

Ra’am served in the Bennett–Lapid coalition in 2021–22. That was a practical, precedent for Jewish–Arab cooperation. In the October 2026 election, Abbas put Jewish former senior police officer Yoav Segalovitz second on Ra’am’s list. This demonstrates his clear intension of working with Jewish Israelis and tackling violent crime, particularly in Arab Israeli communities, as well as working across communities.

Although Mansour Abbas has expressed willingness for Ra’am to join an Eisenkot-led coalition, building on its 2021–22 experience in government. Eisenkot has so far ruled this out citing his four conditions for coalition membership. Nevertheless, on Novermber 5, Ra’am endorsed Eisenkot to form the next government, leaving open opportunities for parliamentary cooperation without formal coalition membership.

8 out of 120

Ra’am has 8 of 120 seats and, so far, is not part of any Eisenkot-led coalition. Abbas told Herzog that Ra’am’s presence would not prevent Israel from defending its citizens. He said his party had come to strengthen relations between Jewish and Arab Israelis, not to run national security policy. That is an important distinction: political engagement and Ra’am’s 8 seats out of 120 are not, and cannot be, a veto over decisions to confront Hamas.

A profound perception gap between Jewish and Arab Israelis

The deeper challenge is a profound gap in mutual perceptions. The Israel Democracy Institute’s 2025 Democracy Index found that 90% of Arab respondents favored integration into Israeli society. Asked whether Palestinian identity can coexist with loyalty to Israel, 70% of Arab respondents said yes, but only 16% of Jewish respondents agreed. These figures reveal the scale of mistrust, and the opportunity to reduce it.

Make Israel’s democracy also work for its Arab citizens

This matters because Arab Israelis are not asking primarily for slogans about Gaza. In a November 2025 survey, 74% identified violence and crime as their community’s most important issue; 77.4% supported an Arab party entering government. Priorities for many Israeli Arabs include housing, land-use planning, education, municipal services and fair policing. Tackling them can improve personal safety and trust in state institutions, with benefits far beyond individual towns.

Arab-led parties won 19 of the Knesset’s 120 seats with turnout in Arab and Druze localities estimated near 77%. That belief in Israel’s democratic system is important. Israel’s roughly two million Arab citizens are not formally disenfranchised: they vote and elect representatives. But when those representatives are treated as permanently unfit to influence public decisions, democratic participation risks looking pointless.

There is a real risk if Arab citizens experience an outcome that effectively excludes them having a voice via the ballot box, some will choose other dangerous methods.

A stark comparison

A systematic political rejection of Arab-Israeli MKs can weaken the credibility of moderate voices, reduce cooperation with law enforcement and make extremist narratives promoted in anti-Israel Arabic media easier to embrace. Credible Arab leaders who can demonstrate real results are better placed to challenge those narratives than leaders whose voters see no benefit from democratic engagement.

Security skeptics have a legitimate concern. However, parliamentary cooperation on everyday governance, as mentioned, does not grant anyone a veto over national defense.

According to the Abraham Initiatives, security and trust are mutually reinforcing: basic personal and physical security provides the safety needed for trust to develop, while trust strengthens long-term security by reducing conflict and fostering cooperation. Among Jewish and Arab Israelis, building trust requires equal civil rights, shared community infrastructure, inclusive policy, and collaborative local initiatives that promote personal safety and mutual understanding.

The regional and international dimensions

Meaningful Arab–Jewish political cooperation challenges blanket claims that Israel is an “apartheid state” towards its Arab citizens, who vote and can participate in government. It shows regional Arab neighbours and the international community that coexistence is a reality in Israel. Sustained equality, effective services and genuine political influence provide evidence. The opposite confirms that some level of apartheid exists within Israeli Arabs’ lived reality.

The question is not whether Israel should ignore Abbas’s words. It is whether one troubling comment should overshadow a bigger test: can Israel defend itself against violent enemies while turning its Arab citizens’ demonstrated appetite for integration and political participation into a durable security asset? The answer will not be measured by slogans but by the trust, safety and cooperation that Israeli institutions actually deliver.