Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has accused his chief political rivals, former prime ministers Yair Lapid and Naftali Bennett, of planning to form a future government with the Islamist United Arab List, escalating an already volatile pre-election battle over legitimacy, security and the role of Arab parties in Israeli politics.

“The cat is out of the bag,” Netanyahu wrote on social media, sharing a televised interview with Mansour Abbas, leader of the United Arab List, also known by its Hebrew acronym Ra’am. “Proof that Lapid and Bennett will form a government with the Muslim Brotherhood.”

In the interview with Channel 12 News, Abbas made clear that he remains open to backing a future coalition led by Lapid and Bennett, even if his party holds the balance of power.

“Even if I’m the 61st [Knesset vote], yes, we will form a government. That’s my opinion,” Abbas said, referring to the minimum number of seats needed to command a parliamentary majority. He added that he hoped Lapid and Bennett would win an outright majority in the next general election, scheduled to be held by Oct. 27.

“But if not — if we again face elections, and again a government that doesn’t meet the needs of Arab citizens — I need to act so that a good government is formed,” Abbas said.

Abbas’s remarks reopened one of the most polarizing fault lines in Israeli politics: the legitimacy of Arab Islamist parties serving as coalition kingmakers. Ra’am played that role in the Lapid-Bennett government that removed Netanyahu from office between June 2021 and December 2022, a precedent Netanyahu has long described as dangerous and illegitimate.

The renewed controversy comes against the backdrop of Abbas’s December announcement that he was severing ties with the Shura Council, a clerical body associated with the Muslim Brotherhood–inspired Southern Branch of the Islamic Movement in Israel, which historically guided Ra’am’s political decisions. The move followed Netanyahu’s declaration that he intends to ban the Muslim Brotherhood, mirroring a similar pledge by U.S. President Donald Trump.

Israeli opposition parties largely avoided commenting on Abbas’s claimed break with the Shura Council. On the right, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich called Abbas “a wolf in sheep’s clothing” attempting to “deceive the Israeli public.”

Abbas’s past statements and the conduct of organizations linked to his political camp have continued to fuel skepticism. In 2024, Abbas described Hamas as “part of the Palestinian people” and accused the IDF of having “murdered” 50,000 civilians in Gaza, while calling for an end to the war.

That same year, a probe by Israel’s Justice Ministry found evidence that entities controlled by the United Arab List had transferred funds to, or cooperated with, organizations designated as terrorist groups. Investigators cited Igatha 48, a charity linked to the Southern Branch of the Islamic Movement and considered a fundraising arm of the movement, as a key conduit.

According to a February 2024 investigation by the HaKol HaYehudi outlet, Igatha 48 transferred more than $120,000 between 2020 and 2023 to Khir Ummah, a Turkish organization identified by Israeli authorities as a Hamas front. The two groups also reportedly ran joint pro-terror summer camps for children in Turkey.

On April 8, 2024, the Tel Aviv District Court rejected Igatha 48’s request to unfreeze its accounts at Bank Leumi. During the proceedings, lawyers for Israel’s largest bank described the red flags surrounding the charity as “shocking.” The group acknowledged that 10 banks had previously refused to open accounts for it.

As Netanyahu sharpened his attack on Lapid, Bennett and Abbas, new cracks appeared elsewhere in the opposition. Benny Gantz, a former defense minister and ex–IDF chief of staff, said Sunday that he would be willing to join a Netanyahu-led government.

“I do not like Netanyahu and I am not his friend,” Gantz told Kan Reshet Bet radio. “But I am a soldier of the State of Israel. If I am willing to die for the country, can I not sit in a government with Netanyahu?”

Gantz, who served in Netanyahu’s war cabinet following the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas-led attack, drew a clear red line of his own.

“I am not willing to abandon the country to extremists or rely on the Arab parties,” he said.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)