The Arab political party Ra’am will open its ranks to any citizen, party leader MK Mansour Abbas said on Monday.
In an interview with 103FM, Abbas described the current period as the “hardest” for Arab citizens, accusing the government of enabling criminal groups to establish “partial sovereignty” through extortion schemes. He assessed that 2025 ended with 267 Arab homicide victims, framing it as a societal and state failure.
Looking ahead to elections, Abbas said Ra’am will establish independent party institutions and become a civil, membership-based party open to all Israelis – Jewish and Arab – including eligibility for its Knesset slate. He said he aims to recruit Jewish politicians who share Ra’am’s agenda, though he did not name candidates.
Abbas said there is no dialogue with Likud regarding future cooperation, accusing the ruling party of abandoning Arab citizens in favor of “extreme sectoral parties.”
He said the government has abandoned Arab society as homicides surge, and accused National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir of “smiling” when hearing about Arab citizens being murdered.
Ben-Gvir's office rejected the allegations and said the minister has intensified enforcement and halted funds flowing to crime families, citing declines in certain offenses.
Abbas says Ben-Gvir is 'non-statesmanlike'
Abbas said officials inside the National Security Ministry told him the minister “smiles” when hearing of sporadic Arab-sector killings, calling Ben-Gvir “non-statesmanlike” and “overbearing.” He also criticized the minister’s hands-on presence at police operations, likening it to a health minister entering an operating room.
In response, Ben-Gvir’s office said the minister “burst the abscess,” stopped money reaching crime families, and pushed tougher measures in prisons while raising police salaries.
It cited reductions in shooting incidents in the Negev and in the number of car thefts, and a sharp rise in home demolitions and enforcement actions, arguing that current policies surpass prior efforts.
Asked about violent practices framed as “cultural,” such as so-called honor killings and domestic abuse, Abbas said that Muslim clerics “go above and beyond” to counter such violence and stressed that Islam rejects the term and the acts.
He argued that religious guidance alone cannot dismantle entrenched criminal networks without sustained state action.
Abbas’s interview ended with a pointed message to the government: The state cannot allow criminal syndicates to create “a state within a state,” particularly through protection rackets that mimic taxation.
Ben-Gvir’s office countered that new enforcement metrics demonstrate progress that “hasn’t been seen here for 30 years.”