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Arab Israeli legislator to be charged with smuggling mobile phone to prisoners

Xinhua, January 5, 2017 Adjust font size:

Israel's attorney general decided on Thursday to indict Arab Israeli legislator Basel Ghattas for allegedly smuggling mobile phones into Palestinian security prisoners.

A statement released on behalf of Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit said that an indictment will be submitted in the coming days.

According to the statement, on Dec. 18, Ghattas arrived at southern Israel's Ktzi'ot prison, carrying 12 cellphones and 16 SIM cards hidden underneath his clothes.

Inside the prison, he allegedly delivered the equipment to Walid Daka, who is serving a life sentence for murdering an Israeli soldier in 1984 and belonging to the Palestinian Popular Front.

Two weeks ago, the police arrested Ghattas just hours after the Israeli parliament, the Knesset, revoked his parliamentary immunity.

Attorney Namir Adalbi, representing Ghattas, said the quick indictment verdict, even before it was served, was "an attempt to pressure the court... to extend Ghattas's house arrest."

"We agreed to the removal of immunity solely for investigative purposes, but that doesn't rule out the option that we'll claim immunity over the indictment," Adalbi said.

Ghattas is a legislator with Balad, an Arab nationalist party that frequently challenges the Israeli establishment over Palestinian issues.

Israel's Arab minority constitutes around a fifth of the population. Endit