Almog Cohen: "Anyone willing to call Abbas a partner or a Zionist is a fool"

MK Almog Cohen commented on Thursday on a Channel 14 investigation regarding Ra'am party chairman Mansour Abbas, calling it one of the most significant exposures in Israeli television history. According to Cohen, the report highlights the stark contrast between the messages Abbas conveys to the Israeli public and his statements in Arabic.

Cohen stated:

"The exposure by Omri Haim on Channel 14 regarding Mansour Abbas is one of the most important pieces of investigative journalism to reach the screen. With his sweet talk and charming demeanor, Mansour Abbas has become a natural partner for Eisenkot. He says the right things in the Israeli media, but in the Arabic media, the narrative is entirely different."

He further added:

"But above all, the 'polite jihad'—when he meets and embraces terrorists, discusses ownership of this land, and maintains direct ties to the Muslim Brotherhood—is the most dangerous of all. Anyone willing to bring him into the government, anyone willing to call him a partner or a Zionist, is not naive; he is a fool. We will not allow him to turn Israel into France or England, where even a flag or patriotism are treated as dirty words today."

As previously reported, the investigation presented materials, testimonies, and findings concerning Mansour Abbas, the Ra'am party, and the Islamic Movement in Israel. It is alleged that Ra'am serves as the political arm of the Islamic Movement, a branch of the Muslim Brotherhood in Israel, and that its civil activities are designed to promote Palestinian nationalist and Islamist goals from within the state's decision-making centers.

The investigation also included recordings of Abbas calling Israel the "Zionist enemy," denying Jewish rights to the Temple Mount, the Western Wall, and Jerusalem, referring to Hamas as "brothers," calling for Jerusalem to remain an "Arab, Islamic, and Palestinian" city, and expressing support for the "marches of return." Additionally, the report presented claims of ties between Ra'am figures and associations identified with the Islamic Movement, which allegedly maintained links to terrorist organizations and were involved in financing their activities.