Likud accuses Segalovitz, who will run with Ra’am, of wanting to establish Palestinian state

By Sam Sokol 31 August 2026, 10:17 pm

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Sam Sokol is a former political correspondent at The Times of Israel. He was previously a reporter for the Jerusalem Post, Jewish Telegraphic Agency and Haaretz. He is the author of "Putin’s Hybrid War and the Jews"

Yoav Segalovitz, at a press conference announcing a joint Knesset run with Ra'am, in Nazareth. August 31, 2026. (Michael Giladi/FLASH90)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party accuses former police official and deputy minister Yoav Segalovitz of seeking to establish a Palestinian state after he announces a joint run with Mansour Abbas’s Arab party, Ra’am.

“Even Segalovitz won’t hide the fact that Mansour Abbas refuses to recognize Hamas and Hezbollah as terrorist organizations and is pushing to establish a Palestinian state. Together with Eisenkot, Liberman, and Yair Golan, they are going to establish a Palestinian state government,” says Likud in a statement.

Abbas recently sparked controversy when he called on Israel to recognize an “independent Palestinian state” during a speech to party delegates at their convention in Taibe.

He subsequently was reported to have reassured opposition party leaders that his belief in the Palestinian right to self-determination would not be translated into a demand for policy change during potential coalition talks after the election. There is widespread opposition in Israel to establishing a Palestinian state.