Israeli officials, including ministers and Knesset members (MKs), are waging a fierce war against Arab MKs, accusing them of tyranny and espionage against the state of Israel, Quds Press reported on Monday. The campaign started after police claimed that Basel Ghattas MK smuggled mobile phones, SIM cards and information to Palestinian security prisoners in Israeli prisons.
“Should the suspicions against MK Ghattas turn out to be true,” tweeted Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, “it is a serious crime against the security of the state and citizens of Israel. Anyone who harms state security should be punished severely and must not serve in the Knesset.”
According to Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan, Arab MKs pose “a danger to state security.” He pledged to halt their visits to security prisoners. “No more!” he announced dramatically. “The suspicions against Basel Ghattas are among the most severe we have ever encountered, and were he not an MK he would likely be under arrest tonight.”
The extreme right-wing Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman said that the Ghattas case made it necessary to strip several Arab MKs of their Israeli citizenship. “Those suspicions are no more than another link in a chain of evidence that the Joint List is actually the spy and traitor list,” he said. “We will continue in our efforts to ensure that not only will they not be part of Israel’s Knesset, but that they will no longer be citizens of the State of Israel.”
For Culture and Sport Minister Miri Regev, the bloc of Arab MKs is a “fifth column” whose members are “Trojan horses.” She accused Ghattas of colluding “with terrorists in prison” and called on the Israeli attorney general to “see the investigation through to its completion.”
“This is a new chapter of political oppression against the leadership of the Arab population and their political activities,” responded Ghattas. “The police are trying to damage the spirit of the Joint List members and undermine their political activities.” He pointed out that his visit to the Palestinian prisoners was permitted and arranged by Israel’s internal security ministry. “I have nothing to hide and I will continue representing the Arab population through legitimate political activities.”