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Israel placed a Palestinian-Israeli lawmaker, known for his pro-Palestinian advocacy, under a 10-day house arrest beginning Tuesday after being in police custody for six days over accusations of giving cell phones and SIM cards to prisoners, which is seen by authorities as an act against the “security of the state of Israel.”
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Basel Ghattas, an Israeli lawmaker with the Joint List, a coalition of leftists and Arab parties in the Israeli Knesset, was arrested last week after he gave up his parliamentary immunity. His house was searched and he was interrogated for six days.
The Joint List saw the move against its member as a crackdown by the Israeli right-wing government on Palestinian politicians and lawmakers.
Yousef Jabareen, who is also a member of the Joint List, told Al-Jazeera Wednesday, "There is no doubt that these are ongoing efforts by Israel's right-wing parliament to strip away the legitimacy of Palestinian politicians."
"They are exploiting this incident and blowing it out of proportion," he continued. "They are persisting in their efforts to frame us as enemies, in line with their racist agenda."
Ghattas is known for his work with international organizations and efforts supporting the Palestinian cause. He participated in the Third Freedom Flotilla, which sought to break the siege imposed on Gaza last year, and was part of the anti-Israeli Apartheid Week organized in Canada earlier this year.
Jihad Abu Raya, an Palestinian-Israeli lawyer and activist based in northern Israel, argued that Ghattas' activities in support of Palestinians are the reason for the recent case against him.
“Israel believes that engaging in such activities at the international level amounts to crossing a red line,” Raya wrote in a column for Middle East Eye website last week. “They are legal activities. As usual, Israel looks for a legal clout for detaining, punishing and banishing such activists as Basel Ghattas.”
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After his arrest last week, Ghattas’ office issued a statement condemning the charges against him. “This is a vengeful and arbitrary arrest, because the police, (Prime Minister) Netanyahu and (Public Security) Minister Erdan want a photo of an Arab MK in handcuffs,” he said according to the statement reported by Israeli news website Ynet.
“The arrest is a political move and is not necessary to the investigation. Fairness obligates to treat an Arab public representative just like a Jewish one, and that is not the situation here.”
The Israeli attorney general is accusing Ghattas of passing “envelopes to security prisoners,” which he says was caught on surveillance cameras. The envelopes allegedly contained “12 cell phones, 16 SIM cards, two cell phone batteries, and headphones,” local media reported.
Israel currently imprisons more than 7,000 Palestinians and places severe restrictions on their communication with family members, lawyers and rights groups. Any unauthorized communication with those convicted inmates is considered a national security threat.
The news comes after the Israeli assembly approved a law in July allowing lawmakers to vote to oust their colleagues from office, which was seen as a direct attack on Palestinian members of the Israeli parliament or Knesset.
The bill was first introduced after Arab MKs visited the families of Palestinians killed by Israeli forces, with Netanyahu saying in March the law would be used to suspend lawmakers who "stand behind terror."
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