In 2007, Abbas became Secretary General of the United Arab List,[8] and in 2010 he was elected Deputy Chairman of the Southern Branch of the Islamic Movement.

Abbas attracted controversy when he spoke in support of conversion therapy to LGBTQ+ youth in an interview with Walla News, leading to his condemnation by other Joint List politicians.

[10] Further divisiveness was caused by Abbas's apparent attempt to improve ties with Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his right-wing Likud party.

He gave an interview with the right-wing pro-Netanyahu Channel 20 Network, where he advocated working with Zionist parties in order to secure the funds and reforms needed for the benefit of Arab Israeli society.

[11] On 21 April 2020, Abbas delivered a historic speech on the Holocaust in the Knesset in which he spoke of the suffering of the Jewish people at the hands of the Nazis.

Abbas stated: "As a religious Palestinian Muslim Arab, who was raised on the legacy of Sheikh Abdullah Nimr Darwish who founded the Islamic Movement, I have empathy for the pain and suffering over the years of Holocaust survivors and the families of the murdered."

[5][17] During the 2021 Israeli-Palestinian crisis, Abbas condemned the burning of several synagogues in Lod by rioters, appealing to Muslim values and respect for the rule of law and vowing to help rebuild them.

Abbas stated "I have to respect the institutions of Ra'am, if the bylaws are not changed, even though they didn't anticipate four elections in two years when they made the rules.

[31][33] Abbas was widely credited with accomplishing an "historic step" forward for Arab Israelis in securing this unprecedented amount of funding.

[35] Under Abbas's direction the coalition government recognized several Bedouin villages and has connected tens of thousands of previously illegal homes to the electrical grid.

[39][40] On 21 December 2021 Abbas said that Israel was born as a Jewish state and will remain so, provoking outrage from members of other Arab parties.

On the other hand, Israel's Labor Party leader Merav Michaeli praised Abbas, saying his statements demonstrate "a committed and real Jewish-Arab partnership".