Mansour Abbas’s ‘Bridge’ to Hamas

Israel’s opposition to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is, the New York Times intones, “facing a huge test” and “an enormous dilemma” — whether to join a government with the Jewish state’s Arab parties. Of the 120 seats in the Knesset, 67 are claimed by those seeking to depose the premier. Of those 67, 19 belong to Arab parties. The Gray Lady laments, though, that “their inclusion in a governing coalition is seen as so problematic by many Israeli Jews.”What is troubling to many Israelis is not the creed or race of the Arab lawmakers, but instead their ideology. The Times reports that the hesitation by the opposition leader, Gadi Eisenkot, to engage the Arabs is “enormously frustrating to political activists.” Also frustrating, though, is, say, Ra’am’s Mansour Abbas’s refusal to disavow Hamas, the terrorist group that marauded into southern Israel and perpetrated the October 7, 2023 massacres.The question was put to Mr. Abbas, the most moderate among the Arab tribunes, on Thursday by President Herzog. He is tasked with shepherding the formation of a new government. Mr. Herzog asked Mr. Abbas, who supports Mr. Eisenkot,“Ultimately, we are at war with Hamas — a cursed, heinous organization and an enemy. Do you consider Hamas a terrorist organization?” Mr. Abbas demurred, and objected to what he called a “this test of loyalty.”Mr. Abbas, who has sat in a governing coalition before, told Mr. Herzog “Leave me this space to be a bridge. To also influence the other side. Don’t turn us into supporters of terrorism and traitors.” Mr. Abbas also told Mr. Herzog that his hesitation was “a matter of life or death” and asked for “space to protect myself and my family as well.” Mr. Abbas’s predicament can be appreciated, but so can the skepticism of Israelis who have battled Hamas for three years.Ra’am, like Hamas, traces its roots to the Muslim Brotherhood. Another Arab party, the Joint List, is an amalgamation of factions that habitually launder the genocide slander and have referred to slain terrorists as “martyrs.” Little of that nuance is captured by Israel’s leftist critics in America, among them the newly minted congressman, Brad Lander. He simply urges Mr. Eisenkot to do the “non-racist thing” and join with the Arabs.Mr. Eisenkot, though, lost a son and two nephews in the wars provoked on October 7. He is hardly alone. The writer Yossi Klein Halevi reckons that “after Oct. 7, no party can sit in an Israeli government whose members don’t recognize Hamas as an enemy.” That is the case made by Mr. Netanyahu, who declares that “Radical Islam is the challenge that is tearing countries apart in Europe today. It is also the challenge that threatens us.”Mr. Netanyahu adds that any government “that relies on radical Islam will not only fail to fight our enemies, but will simply tear us apart from within.” Mr. Abbas is a formidable parliamentarian — number two on Ra’am’s election slate was a Jewish former deputy minister of national security. Arabs have never been so close to such significant political clout. The refusal to condemn Hamas, though, could burn any “bridge” to a premiership for Mr. Eisenkot.

Mansour Abbas’s ‘Bridge’ to Hamas

Mansour Abbas’s ‘Bridge’ to Hamas

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