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Mansour Abbas Becomes Speaker of Israeli Knesset for 5 Days

Mansour Abbas. (AP)
Mansour Abbas. (AP)
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Mansour Abbas Becomes Speaker of Israeli Knesset for 5 Days

Mansour Abbas. (AP)
Mansour Abbas. (AP)

Amid strong opposition from the Israeli extreme right, the Knesset Committee appointed alternately MPs Mansour Abbas and Zvi Hauser as speakers from March 22 until April 4, because Speaker Mickey Levy will be traveling abroad.

Abbas is currently Deputy Speaker of the Knesset and leader of the United Arab List. He was appointed as the chair of Special Committee on Arab Society Affairs in the Knesset on April 27, 2021.

Under Israeli law, when the Israeli president is abroad, the speaker serves as acting president of the state.

On Monday, a number of right-wing deputies protested Abbas’s appointment.

MP Itamar Ben Gvir criticized the decision and described it as “dangerous.”

He said: “Imagine that the Arab Speaker of the Knesset will replace, by law, the Jewish president if the latter is absent.”

“Some people in the Knesset presidency have gone crazy, and we must act immediately,” he said.

Last week, Levy requested the Knesset Committee to approve the appointment of his two deputies as his replacements while he travels abroad for two weeks starting Tuesday.

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Sudan’s Burhan Rules Out Peace Before Defeating RSF

Abdel Fattah al-Burhan greets his supporters in Omdurman, west of Khartoum, Sudan (File photo - AP)
Abdel Fattah al-Burhan greets his supporters in Omdurman, west of Khartoum, Sudan (File photo - AP)
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Sudan’s Burhan Rules Out Peace Before Defeating RSF

Abdel Fattah al-Burhan greets his supporters in Omdurman, west of Khartoum, Sudan (File photo - AP)
Abdel Fattah al-Burhan greets his supporters in Omdurman, west of Khartoum, Sudan (File photo - AP)

Sudan’s transitional Sovereign Council leader, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, has pledged to press on with the war until the entire country is “liberated,” and vowed to eradicate what he called “the militia, their agents, and collaborators.”

He accused “colonial powers” of supporting the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) with money, weapons, and mercenaries.

Speaking in Mauritania on Tuesday, Burhan said the fighting would not cease until “every inch desecrated by these criminals” is reclaimed.

He vowed to continue military operations until “all cities, villages, and rural areas in our beloved Sudan are freed,” according to a statement from the Sovereign Council’s media office.

Burhan said his country’s ties with domestic and foreign parties depend on their stance toward the ongoing war.

Burhan is on a tour of African nations, including Mali, Guinea-Bissau, Sierra Leone, Senegal, and Mauritania. Observers say the trip aims to restore Sudan’s African Union membership, suspended after the October 2021 coup, and rally support against the RSF.

Speaking in Mauritania, Burhan vowed to defeat the RSF, accusing them of crimes under the leadership of Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, generally referred to as Hemedti, and called for unity to end his influence.

“Our message is on the battlefield, not through words, until these criminals are eliminated,” he said.

Burhan insisted peace is only possible if the RSF and their allies are removed. “We support peace, but only if these Janjaweed and their mercenaries no longer exist,” he stated.

He described the conflict as a “battle for dignity,” saying it is a fight to protect the honor and homes of Sudanese citizens.