PA states that Israeli Arab MP Mansour Abbas' recognition of Israel as a Jewish State "is an attempt to collapse the principles of the Palestinian national liberation movement"
Excerpt of a column by Muwaffaq Matar, Fatah Revolutionary Council member and regular columnist for the official PA daily
Headline: “‘The Zionist is a Muslim Brotherhood member’ – Mansour Abbas as an example”
“The recognition by a Palestinian in the Israeli Parliament that it is a Jewish state is most dangerous (refers to Israeli Arab Parliament Member Mansour Abbas’ statement; see note below -Ed.)… as it is an attempt to collapse the principles of the Palestinian national liberation movement, which determine that the Palestinian people is waging a legitimate struggle to restore to itself its homeland and to take by force the natural historical right from the one who stole it. What is even more dangerous is the fact that it promotes perceptions and statements regarding the Zionist tale, according to which Palestine is the promised land of the Jews and Judaism is a nation – something that gives Israel legitimacy to represent the world’s Jews.”
At the Globes Israel Business Conference on Dec. 21, 2021, Israeli Arab Parliament Member Mansour Abbas said: "The State of Israel was born as a Jewish state. This is the people’s decision, and the question is not what the identity of the state is – it was born like this and thus it will remain… I protested the [Jewish] Nation-State Law and I do not want to deceive anyone. The question is what the status of the Arab citizen in the Jewish State of Israel is. That is the question.”
Jewish Nation-State Law – law passed by the Israeli Parliament on July 19, 2018, which codifies in Israel's Basic Law that Israel is the home of the Jewish nation with Jerusalem its capital, and the Hebrew calendar its official calendar. It establishes Hebrew as the sole official language and grants Arabic a special status, and it recognizes Jewish and Israeli holidays, memorial days, and the Jewish Sabbath as national holidays and days of rest - while guaranteeing the right of all Israeli citizens and residents to celebrate their holidays and days of rest. The law, which passed with 62 in favor, 55 against, and 2 abstentions, has sparked controversy within Israeli society.