Updated

Mansour Abbas, leader of the Israeli Islamist party Ra'am, and former Yesh Atid lawmaker Boaz Segalovitz confirmed on 13 August 2026 that they are holding ongoing talks about running together for the Knesset. The negotiations come as Ra'am seeks to broaden its appeal and shed its explicitly religious image ahead of the next Israeli election. The far-right Otzma Yehudit party criticised the move, claiming Abbas intends to use it to turn the Negev and Galilee into "Islamic territory". The talks remain preliminary, with no formal alliance announced.