JERUSALEM, ISRAEL — As one of a handful of Arab lawmakers in the Knesset, Israel’s parliament, Mansour Abbas has spent years navigating a fine line between wanting his people to be part of the political process and advocating for their own identity and voice inside a Jewish state.
Mr. Abbas, 50, is a former dentist who heads the United Arab List party, commonly known by its Hebrew acronym Ra’am, which holds five seats in the Knesset. He made history in 2021 after becoming the first Arab to join an Israeli government when he threw Ra’am’s support behind the conservative Naftali Bennett and liberal Yair Lapid. Their coalition lasted until December 2022 when Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu returned to power.
Mr. Abbas said his focus has always been on securing a better life for Israel’s 1.9 million Arab citizens — improved housing and schools, less crime and corruption. But the Oct. 7, 2023, attack by Hamas and the war it triggered inside the Gaza Strip pushed such kitchen table issues to the side.
His priority today is stopping the fighting in the Palestinian enclave and securing the release of the Israeli hostages still being held there.
“There is no solution but a political one,” he told The Washington Times in a March interview at the Knesset. “So we hope that our initiative will contribute to the efforts trying to end this war, bring the kidnapped people back to Israel, and find a new way to solve the conflict.”
Mr. Abbas recently presented Israeli President Isaac Herzog with the party’s “Bridges of Reconciliation and Peace Initiative” for ending the war in Gaza and securing the release of the hostages. Although he did not provide details, it is believed to incorporate the two-state solution plan that his party supports.
His faction in the Israeli government has long sought to build bridges between the country’s Jewish and Arab communities. The plan’s ultimate goal is to bring both sides together so they will recognize the principle of self-determination and national ambitions in the other.
“We understand what happens in Israel and we understand what happens in the Palestinian community. We are part of the Palestinian community,” he said.
Mr. Abbas condemned the Oct. 7, Hamas attack that killed at least 1,139 people, mostly Israeli civilians, including women and children. But Mr. Abbas said it’s time to end the war that followed.
“We are calling on them to stop the escalation. Hundreds of people have lost their lives,” Mr. Abbas said. “You think this will bring the hostages back? This will put them in a dangerous situation.”
He said the other Arab parties in the Knesset are focused on narrow parochial interests rather than helping to govern the country.
“They want to try to influence the situation, but they don’t want to be part of a coalition or government,” Mr. Abbas said. “They want to bring some benefits to the Arabic community and to the Palestinian issue, but they don’t want to be part of that coalition.”
Support inside Israel for a two-state solution plummeted following the Oct. 7 attack. But Mr. Abbas said carving out a Palestinian nation from Gaza and the West Bank would also provide security for Israel.
He criticized President Trump’s plan for the U.S. to seize control of Gaza, move out its roughly 2 million residents and develop it into a “Middle East Riviera.”
Mr. Abbas is pushing for an Egyptian-sponsored temporary “technocratic government” in Gaza controlled by neither Hamas nor the Palestinian Authority. It should focus on rebuilding the shattered homes and infrastructure inside the Palestinian enclave.
“Hamas must think in a different way and give the Palestinian people the chance to find another way to rebuild their future — far from extreme parties and a violent approach,” he said. “They think they’re fighting for Palestinian rights, but their approach is very bad.”
• Mike Glenn can be reached at mglenn@washingtontimes.com.