Knesset petition to expel Arab MK

More than 70 members of the Knesset, most of them from the ruling coalition, have signed a petition calling for the expulsion of Arab MK Basel Ghattas from parliament, Felesteen has reported. According to Israeli television, this is the second petition that Ze’ev Elkin MK has submitted to the Speaker demanding that he should oust Ghattas. His first petition was rejected due to a lack of evidence of any wrongdoing by the Palestinian Knesset member.

Last year, the Knesset approved a law enabling MKs to oust their colleagues if they collect the signatures of at least 70 lawmakers on a petition; Elkin’s had 71.

The Israeli police arrested Ghattas last month on charges of money laundering and smuggling mobile telephones to Palestinian prisoners inside Israeli jails, who are isolated from the outside world.

The member of the Joint Arab List in the Knesset has been under house arrest since December.He and his colleagues in the Knesset, as well as the Arab community in Israel, believe that the action against him is part of systematic campaign aiming to oust them from parliament.