Mansour Abbas rejects criticism from Hamas, wants to stay in coalition

“We owe neither [Hamas head] Sinwar nor anyone anything,” the Ra’am party leader stated.

By World Israel News Staff

In an interview with the press Saturday evening, Ra’am party chairman Mamsour Abbas rejected criticism from the Hamas leader in Gaza who accused him of “betraying” the Palestinian people.

“There is no need to respond to [Yahya] Sinwar’s remarks,” Abbas said. we have no interest in arguing with Hamas.”

In a videotaped speech, Sinwar slammed Abbas for being part of the Israeli government coalition. “The fact that you are giving a safety net to a government that harms al-Aqsa is a crime,” Sinwar stated.

He was referring to the recent violence on the Temple Mount over the Ramadan holiday, when Muslims rioted violently, endangering the general public. Israeli police were forced to enter the Al-Aqsa Mosque, which was being desecrated by the rioters, in order to protect freedom of prayer for the Muslims.

“We owe neither Sinwar nor anyone anything. We do what is good for Arab society and the Palestinian people,” Abbas told media, commenting on Sinwar’s remarks. “No one will tell us what to do.”

“We are fulfilling our commitment to the Al-Aqsa Mosque,” Abbas continued, saying he was working with the Israeli government and with Jordan, which administers the Temple Mount.

Regarding the freeze on Ra’am’s membership in the coalition due to events on the Temple Mount, Abbas said it was coordinated with Foreign Minister Yair Lapid and was due to end this week, at the conclusion of Ramadan.

“We have not resigned from the coalition and have not decided to go to elections and disband the government. We want to advance our issues within the coalition, and I hope we can reach an understanding by the end of the [Knesset] recess,” he said.