Defense Minister Israel Katz spoke out forcefully on Sunday against the possibility of bringing the Islamist Ra’am party into Israel’s next governing coalition, warning that such a step carries grave implications for national security.
2+In a statement released on Sunday, Katz pointed to Egypt’s formal decision to outlaw the Muslim Brotherhood movement, contrasting Cairo’s crackdown with ongoing political efforts in Israel to integrate Ra’am into a future cabinet. “Egypt has completed the process of outlawing the Muslim Brotherhood, and here they are working to bring them into the government,” Katz declared. “I warn of the grave consequences of this move for Israel’s security.”
According to the defense minister, the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt operates in coordination with Hamas and with the Brotherhood’s umbrella organization in Turkey in an effort to foment a revolution against Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi. Katz further asserted that Hamas’s head of foreign intelligence, Khaled Ghanem, is involved in advancing and financing those efforts in cooperation with elements within the Iranian regime—claims presented in the minister’s statement without accompanying public evidence.
2+The defense minister noted that the United States welcomed Egypt’s move to outlaw the movement, adding that several other Arab nations have adopted a similarly firm stance against the Muslim Brotherhood. Continuing his remarks, Katz directly attacked proposals to incorporate Ra’am into an Israeli governing coalition, explicitly linking the party to the ideology of the Muslim Brotherhood. “Only here in Israel are there those working, even after the events of October 7, to bring the sister movement of Hamas into the coalition and the government,” Katz stated.
The minister also targeted Ra’am Chairman Mansour Abbas, noting that Abbas has refused to formally classify Hamas as a terrorist organization. According to Katz, the party is rooted in an Islamist ideology that seeks to alter the fundamental character of the State of Israel.
2+Escalating his warning, Katz declared: “Those who are willing to overthrow the president of the largest and strongest Arab country in the name of radical Islamic ideology will not hesitate to slaughter the Jewish state if given the opportunity.”
At the conclusion of his statement, the defense minister called for establishing a wide political consensus across Israel’s leadership against cooperating with parties he accused of maintaining ties with Israel’s adversaries. “There must be a broad national consensus not to cooperate in any way with Islamist and nationalist Arab parties that maintain ties with Israel’s enemies and act for its destruction,” Katz said.