Abbas: Netanyahu ‘took advantage of his position to incite against Arabs,’ even as his confidant was recently in contact

Ra’am leader Mansour Abbas says that despite the public attacks by interim Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, a confidant of the premier recently reached out to him to gauge his position.

Abbas tells the Kan public broadcaster that Natan Eshel sent him a message on behalf of the premier.

“He was interested in our position regarding a law banning criminal defendants from serving as premier, and whether we will join a coalition to replace Netanyahu’s government,” Abbas says.

Responding to Likud’s denial that Netanyahu once confided in him that he, Netanyahu, and then-Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar “understand each other,” Abbas tells Kan that: “I am willing to take a polygraph and he can take a polygraph, [to see] who is telling the truth. There were other people in the room.”

Abbas also slams Netanyahu for his speech yesterday, saying he “took advantage of his state position to incite against the Arab public and its representatives.״

“[Netanyahu] continues the campaign of incitement and blood libels against me, against Ra’am, against the Arab public,” he says. “It was a dangerous speech, endangering my life and the life of my family.”

In an incendiary speech yesterday, Netanyahu accused members of the Arab parties of seeking Israel’s destruction and supporting terrorism.

Abbas tells Kan that he has “expressed a very, very firm opinion against terrorist organizations, against terrorist acts, against political violence, against the killing of people in a general manner.”

The Ra’am leader says that he remained in the Knesset plenum yesterday for the singing of the national anthem, even while other Arab lawmakers left, because “our position is to present statesmanship, of responsibility, of not being provocative.”