Ra'am chairman Mansour Abbas responded for the first time to serious allegations against his party, days after party members were accused of channeling Qatari funds to bribe voters in Israeli elections.
In a statement, Abbas wrote: "Ra'am welcomes the decision of Central Elections Committee chairman, Judge Noam Solberg, to investigate the suspicions of improper influence on the elections through foreign funding. Safeguarding the integrity of elections and the rule of law is a civic and democratic duty we have inscribed on our banner."
Despite the published reports, he insisted that "Ra'am has no connection whatsoever to the affair in question or to other affairs, and we declare that we will cooperate fully with all law enforcement authorities to clarify the truth."
He added, "And to Abu Yair, who employs Qatari agents in his office, we have one message in response to the incitement and delegitimization campaign he is conducting against Arab citizens: 'There will be nothing, because there is nothing.' Except that unlike you, for us this is the truth and not another lie."
