Minister Eli Cohen: My hand will be cut off before I sit with Mansour Abbas

Energy Minister Eli Cohen has rejected forming a future coalition or government with the Arab Ra'am (United Arab List) party. In conversations with dozes of of deputy leaders in various local authorities, Cohen said, "My hand could be cut off and I would not sit with [MK] Mansour Abbas."

A deputy mayor from the Arab sector expressed dislike for Cohen's statements, prompting Cohen to add, "You can be proud that you live in the State of Israel, the state of the Jewish nation, the safest place in the Middle East for a variety of populations, and I told Abbas also that he should kiss the ground that the IDF soldiers protect."

Regarding the hostage deal, Cohen said that Israel must act powerfully against Hamas, until all hostages are freed. "If they do not release hostages in the second stage of the deal, we must end the humanitarian aid and disconnect the electricity," he urged.    (Read More)