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Israeli Arab lawmaker arrested over allegations of aid to Palestinian prisoners

Xinhua, December 23, 2016 Adjust font size:

Israeli Arab lawmaker, Basel Ghattas, was arrested on Thursday over allegations of smuggling mobile phones to Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails, the police said.

Police spokeswoman Luba Samri said that he would be brought in front of a judge to remand his arrest on Friday morning.

Police interrogated Ghattas for the second time on Thursday, after the Knesset (parliament) officially stripped his parliamentary immunity, paving the way for arrest and prosecution. In a letter to the Knesset Speaker, Ghattas said he agrees to have his immunity revoked.

Shortly later, Ghattas was summoned to questioning in the police and was arrested after three hours of interrogation.

The police are investigating allegations that Ghattas smuggled 12 mobile phones to two Palestinian prisoners in jail for security offenses.

Samri said that he might face charges of conspiring to commit a crime, fraud, breach of trust, and violations of Israel Prisons Service orders.

Ghattas is a lawmaker with the Balad Arab nationalist party, which frequently confronts with the Israeli establishment over Palestinian issues. Endit