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Israeli lawmaker probed for smuggling phones to prisoners

Xinhua, December 20, 2016 Adjust font size:

Israeli police on Tuesday interrogated an Israeli-Arab lawmaker over suspicion of smuggling mobile phones to Palestinian prisoners in Israel.

A police spokesperson said Basel Ghattas was questioned for four hours in the Lahav 433 unit, or Israel's FBI.

The investigation was launched over alleged smuggling of 12 cell phones and encrypted messages to Hamas prisoners in the Ktzi'ot prison in southern Israel, the spokesperson said.

Before entering the questioning, Ghattas told reporters that the suspicions against him are baseless. "I will come out with my head held high," he said, adding that the investigation is "a political witch hunt" aimed to harm the Palestinian struggle.

On Monday, the police issued an exit delay order, forbidding Ghattas to leave the country during the investigation.

Interior Security Minister Gilad Erdan said that if the allegations prove true, Ghattas should be sentenced to jail.

Also on Monday, right-wing ministers and lawmakers called on to boot Ghattas from the parliament and to outlaw his party, Balad.

Balad is an Arab-Palestinian nationalist party that has frequent confrontations with the government.

Arab citizens of Israel are Palestinians who stayed during Israel's 1948 Independence War. They make up about 20 percent of the Israel's population. Endit