My plan for peace

Here are some peace principles presented as a "plan" by their author. Certain questions remain, but it is interesting to note that this is the first time an initiative of this kind has been taken by an Israeli Arab leader.

Gérard Benhamou - You are a key figure in Israeli politics. Could you tell us a little about your career?

Mansour Abbas - I was born in 1974 into a farming family in Maghar, Galilee. My parents were among those Palestinians who did not leave their lands when Israel was created. I was born twenty-six years later, and I've always been Israeli. I spoke Hebrew from an early age and I’ve lived with Jews, particularly during my studies in orthodontics at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

G. B. - When did you get involved in politics?

M. A. - I was elected to the Knesset in 2019 on the United Arab List, and quickly became known for my statements in favor of the integration of Palestinian Arabs. I was convinced that this approach could lead to an improvement in our living conditions. In 2021, I took the historic decision to join the "Change Government” coalition led by Naftali Bennett and Yaïr Lapid. I was Minister Delegate in the Prime Minister's Office from 13 June 2021 to 29 December 2022. This was unprecedented in Israel's history, and it led to investments and reforms that benefited the country's Arab community.

G. B. - Is the importance you publicly attach to your Muslim faith compatible with a political commitment at the highest levels of the Hebrew state?

M. A. - When I was very young, I joined the Southern branch of the Islamic Movement (1), which eventually seceded from the movement and adopted a pragmatic approach that enabled it to participate actively in Israeli political life. As a teenager, I was fascinated by Islam, but as I delved deeper into the roots of my faith, I realized that it was possible for us to live alongside others, whatever their religion.

G. B. - Recognition of the Jewish character of the State of Israel has always been laid down as a precondition for negotiating a peace treaty with the Palestinians,   whether by Ariel Sharon, Ehud Olmert or Benjamin Netanyahu. You were the first to officially grant this recognition. Why did you do so?

M. A. - On 21 December 2021, I did indeed make a public statement of recognition. Recognizing Israel as a Jewish state had been a taboo for over seventy years. My statement was unambiguous.  The Jewish people made this decision, and the identity of the state is not at issue. It was born as a Jewish state, and it will remain so.

G. B. - Your position has been criticized among Palestinians...

M. A. - That's correct: the President of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, has repeatedly refused to recognize Israel as a Jewish state, and has denounced my statements as "irresponsible".

G. B. - Like the vast majority of Israeli Arabs, you condemned the 7 October  massacres and the taking of innocent hostages. Have these actions definitively discredited Hamas?

M. A. – All violence deliberately carried out against innocent people - women, children, the elderly - is inhuman and goes …