Middle East Monitor / April 18, 2022
Ra’am, the southern Israeli Islamic party, decided on Sunday to freeze its membership in Israel’s coalition government and Knesset in protest against Israeli aggression against Al-Aqsa Mosque.
This decision followed immense pressure exerted on the party after the Israeli raids and violence in Al-Aqsa Mosque.
Mansour Abbas, chief of the party, has issued repeated calls for an end to the Israeli army desecrations of the Islamic holy site.
The Palestinian-majority Joint List party mocked Ra’am’s decision and said it was freezing its membership in the Knesset and coalition for two weeks, while the government is in recess.
Ayman Odeh, head of the Arab majority Joint List party, tweeted: “Not coming to the Knesset during recess. A dramatic decision.”
The Joint List’s Ofer Cassif, a Jewish member of the Palestinian coalition, said: “Ra’am’s announcement of freezing their membership in the coalition during the Knesset’s recess is like announcing a diet during Ramadan.”
