United Arab List (Ra’am) chairman MK Mansour Abbas abruptly ended an interview with journalists Asaf Liberman and Suleiman Maswadeh after refusing to answer whether he supports dismantling the Hamas terror organization.
During the interview, Abbas was repeatedly asked if “Hamas should be destroyed.” He declined to respond, replying to the interviewers’ pressing: “I’m not under interrogation.”
Following a tense exchange, Abbas ended the interview unilaterally and left the conversation.
Afterward, Abbas issued a clarification: “Anyone who listened to me on Reshet Bet heard me give clear answers regarding ‘the day after’ in the Gaza Strip. I said our plan aligns with [US] President [Donald] Trump’s plan.”
He added, “I spoke about our desire for a new governing and security reality inside the Gaza Strip. I spoke about an international force replacing the regime in Gaza. I spoke about Palestinian forces being trained to eventually govern Gaza, and I spoke about the need to reach a peace and reconciliation agreement between the two peoples. Anyone expecting me to speak like [Otzma Yehudit chief National Security Minister Itamar] Ben Gvir and [Religious Zionism leader Finance Minister Bezalel] Smotrich is mistaken.”