From the Liveblog of
Monday, November 10, 2025
Ra’am’s Abbas says Gaza needs ‘new governmental reality,’ but declines to state if Hamas should be destroyed
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GoogleSam 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"
While calling for a new government in Gaza focused on “peace and reconciliation,” MK Mansour Abbas, the head of the Islamist Ra’am party, declines to state whether Hamas should be destroyed, sparking right-wing outrage.
Responding to a question during a radio interview with the Kan public broadcaster, Abbas shouts that he had come on the program to discuss domestic issues facing Arab Israelis.
He had stated earlier in the discussion that “we want to bring about a new governmental reality in the Gaza Strip. The Palestinian people need to choose their leadership and embark on a new path that emphasizes the values of peace and reconciliation.”
In response, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich calls Abbas’s party “a sister movement of Hamas” that “supports terrorism and encourages terrorism, and whose place is place is in prison, not in the Israeli Knesset.”
“It is sad that even today many of Israel’s left-wing leaders see them as legitimate partners,” he adds.
Responding to his critics, Abbas says that he had stated that “our plan is consistent with President Trump’s plan, I spoke about our desire for a new governmental and security reality within the Gaza Strip, I spoke about an international force that will replace the government within the Gaza Strip, I spoke about Palestinian forces that will later be trained to govern within the Gaza Strip, and I spoke about the need to reach a peace agreement and reconciliation between the two peoples.”
“Anyone who expects me to speak like Ben Gvir and Smotrich is mistaken,” he adds.
The Times of Israel Community.