Abbas’s refusal to answer may have broader electoral consequences in the upcoming national elections in October, as it reinforces right-wing warnings about the danger of bringing an Arab party into the government. By David Isaac, JNSUnited Arab List (Ra’am) Party Chairman Mansour Abbas on Tuesday refused to condemn Hamas as a terror organization that needs to be destroyed during an interview with Israeli radio station Kan Reshet Bet.In an uncharacteristically emotional outburst by the party leader, Abbas refused to directly answer the question repeatedly posed to him by interviewer Esti Perez-Ben Ami:“Can you say unequivocally, clearly, that Hamas is a terrorist organization that massacred Israeli citizens, Jews, and Arabs on Oct. 7, [2023] and needs to be eliminated?”Abbas first launched into a tirade about how his party was constantly being required to pass purity tests.“We condemned every act of terrorism. We condemned the crimes of Oct. 7, not only from the secular viewpoint but also from the Islamic religious viewpoint. We came out against it. … And again they want to bring us back to the tests,” he said.He then defended his supporters, drawn from traditional, religious Muslims, particularly Bedouin in the Negev region, describing them as “normative, law-abiding citizens.”They want to integrate into Israeli society and “aspire to achieve peace and reconciliation between the Palestinian people and the Jewish people,” he said.Perez Ben-Ami responded: “You don’t answer me, but I’m asking you a question: Is Hamas a terror organization that needs to be destroyed?”Abbas again dodged the question, saying that on top of putting him through additional tests, it wasn’t wise to play into the hands of the extreme right, which seeks to delegitimize his party.He said it’s also an attempt to delegitimize The Democrats, a new party formed in 2024 through the merger of the far-left Meretz and Labor parties.He said it was outrageous to put “any one of us to this loyalty test.”“MK Mansour Abbas, I hear you. I also hear the emotion in your voice. But I ask you for an answer, which my listeners also want to ask. Is Hamas a terrorist organization that needs to be destroyed? What’s wrong with saying yes or no?” Perez Ben-Ami asked.After a back-and-forth during which they spoke over each other, Abbas said, “I don’t want to give you an unequivocal answer.” He later added, “I have an unequivocal answer. I don’t want to say it.”Abbas’s refusal to answer may have broader electoral consequences in the upcoming national elections in October, as it reinforces right-wing warnings about the danger of bringing an Arab party into the government.Mathematically, the opposition must include at least one Arab party to form a governing coalition.Ra’am, which is projected to win five votes according to the latest Channel 12 poll on Monday, is the most logical partner.Indeed, it’s the only alternative as the other Arab parties, Hadash-Ta’al and Balad, refuse to be part of a Zionist governing coalition.Ra’am has expressed readiness to become part of an Israeli government, having already participated in the Lapid-Bennett government (June 2021-Dec. 2022).Israeli right-wing politicians jumped on Abbas’s latest comments. Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir of the Otzma Yehudit Party posted to X:“I have a clear-cut answer on what needs to be done with all the terror supporters, the left’s partners, who are in the Knesset under the auspices of the hostile judicial system. And I’m ready to say it: Send them to Iran. Out!”This is not the first time Abbas has made controversial statements regarding Hamas. On May 23, 2024, he described Hamas as a legitimate part of the Palestinian people.He attempted to clarify his words the following day, telling Kan Reshet Bet, “Arab states are seeking a solution through reconciliation between the nations. Regarding Hamas, there is no room for those who do not see reconciliation as part of the solution. Those who have committed crimes must pay the price; Hamas has committed crimes.”In 2024, a Ra’am-linked charity, Aid 48, was caught sending large sums to Hamas.Abbas has attempted to broaden his party’s appeal. He announced in Dec. 2025 that he would split from the Shura Council, a body associated with the Muslim Brotherhood-inspired Southern Branch of the Islamic Movement, which guided the party and ultimately made its decisions.Abbas’s move followed an announcement by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a month prior that he intended to ban the Muslim Brotherhood. His declaration followed a similar announcement by U.S. President Donald Trump.In 2009 and 2019, the Knesset Central Elections Committee banned Ra’am from running due to its extremism, only to have its ruling reversed by the Israeli Supreme Court.The post Ra’am Party chief refuses to condemn Hamas as terror group appeared first on World Israel News.