Ra'am's Abbas: Netanyahu said he and Sinwar understand

Ra'am chairman MK Mansour Abbas claimed Tuesday evening in an interview with Channel 12 that he held a conversation with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during Operation Guardian of the Walls in which Netanyahu told him: "Yahya Sinwar and I understand each other."

The interview took place after the swearing-in of the 26th Knesset, and Abbas leveled sharp accusations against Netanyahu regarding the policy of transferring funds to the Gaza Strip and what he described as the prime minister's relationship with the Hamas leader. The remarks came in response to a harsh speech Netanyahu delivered against Ra'am and Abbas himself during the ceremony.

"The danger is not only in what you describe about Hamas, but also in how you fund Hamas," Abbas said. "Netanyahu knew the money was going to Hamas's military wing. He endangered Israel's security. He placed his trust in Sinwar. I did not."

Abbas recounted that during Netanyahu's speech this evening, he recalled the conversation he had held with the prime minister at the official residence in Balfour. "Yahya Sinwar and I understand each other", that, according to Abbas, is what Netanyahu told him at that meeting. Abbas added that he tried to understand what exactly the prime minister meant by the statement, and the words stayed with him over the years.

The Ra'am chairman tied the disclosure to his call for a state commission of inquiry into the events of October 7. "Every time I thought about a state commission of inquiry, I said, 'I must stand before the commission and tell them these things,'" he said.

In the interview, Abbas also addressed criticism of his party for refusing to use the term "terrorist organization" to describe Hamas. "We condemn terror. I express my positions not as conditions," he clarified. "I speak the truth. I don't say it as blackmail or conditions. As a matter of principle, my position is coherent. Terror is called terror and violence is called violence."

Abbas attacked Netanyahu's remarks against the Arab MKs at the swearing-in ceremony, claiming the prime minister exploited the state platform to incite against them. "I was shocked that the prime minister exploits a state occasion to incite and level blood libels against Arab citizens of Israel, our commitment is not in doubt," he said.

Abbas's disclosure comes against the backdrop of political tensions surrounding the formation of the next government, as the "change bloc" conducts contacts with the Arab parties. Earlier Tuesday, Abbas declared that "Netanyahu's bloc will become the opposition in a few hours," and expressed Ra'am's desire to be part of the next coalition.