Ra’am leader Abbas confirms talks over ex-Yesh Atid MK joining Arab party slate

A former Yesh Atid MK is in talks to join an Arab party slate, as Ra’am leader Mansour Abbas confirms positive discussions aimed at making Ra’am a viable coalition partner.

Ra’am Party leader MK Mansour Abbas confirmed on Thursday that there have been discussions over former Yesh Atid MK Yoav Segalovich potentially joining the Arab party’s slate ahead of the upcoming elections.

The joint statement from Abbas and Segalovich said that the two “held a cordial and positive discussion about the possibility of Segalovich joining Ra’am’s slate in the upcoming Knesset elections.”

“The two agreed to continue direct talks with the aim of advancing the matter,” the statement added.

There have been ongoing reports that Segalovich will soon join the Arab party ahead of the elections set for October 27. Last week, Segalovitz announced his resignation from the Knesset and departure from the Yesh Atid Party, which opposition leader Yair Lapid leads.

Segalovitz’s potential addition to the party has been widely seen as a way for Ra’am to be viewed as a more viable coalition partner ahead of the elections.

In 2021, Ra’am joined the coalition during the Naftali Bennett-Yair Lapid government, marking the first time an Arab party was a formal member of a governing coalition. The move to include Ra’am in the coalition was highly criticized.

Most anti-Bibi opposition parties still reject possibility of forming government with Arab parties

Though Ra’am seeks to be part of the coalition again, most opposition parties in the bloc seeking to replace Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have rejected the possibility of forming a government with any of the Arab parties.

Segalovitz was a former head of Lahav 433. He had worked in the Knesset during the Bennett-Lapid government on combatting violence in Arab society.

The far-Right Otzma Yehudit Party, led by National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, slammed the Thursday joint statement, accusing Abbas of attempting to “take control of the National Security Ministry."

The party stated that “a plan to sell off the Jewish state is unfolding in cooperation with the Left.”

“Mansour Abbas is attempting, through Yoav Segalovitz, to take control of the National Security Ministry, to bring back the ‘terrorist summer camps’ in prisons, halt demolitions in the Negev, and take control of the Negev and Galilee Ministry in order to turn them into an Islamic territory,” Otzma Yehudit stated.