Ra’am chairman Mansour Abbas responded today (Wednesday) for the first time to the Central Elections Committee’s decision to disqualify his party from running in the Knesset elections, claiming the decision was politically motivated and intended to prevent the formation of an alternative government.
Abbas directed his criticism at Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, saying: “‘Abu Yair,’ who in the last two election campaigns chose not to cooperate with attempts to disqualify Ra’am, hoping to form a government with it, and even personally negotiated with me at Balfour — now understands that the only way for him to prevent the formation of the next ‘change government’ is by disqualifying Ra’am.” The Ra’am chairman went on to attack the Central Elections Committee’s decision itself, calling it a “political, illegitimate and anti-democratic decision.” According to Abbas, the decision was made contrary to the position of the attorney general and is based on “false accusations and fabrications.”
Abbas announced that his party would fight the decision in the High Court of Justice: “We will refute these claims in the High Court, just as we have done in the past.” Abbas also addressed the approach his party seeks to advance in relations between Arabs and Jews. According to him, “Ra’am is advancing a process of partnership and coexistence between Arabs and Jews, and this disqualification should also be viewed against the backdrop of that path.”