Knesset postpones decision on ousting of Arab MK

Members of the House Committee in the Israeli Knesset have postponed a decision on the expulsion of an Arab MK from the parliament, Israeli media have reported. The decision will now be made next week.

The postponement was agreed after the Attorney General introduced a plea bargain between the Knesset and Dr Basel Ghattas MK, the terms of which include his resignation.

The vote needs the approval of two-thirds of the Knesset members to go ahead with procedures leading to the MK’s expulsion. His removal is being based on a law enacted in July last year; at least 70 Knesset members, 10 of whom must be from the opposition, are needed to approve any removal bid. When the law was enacted, the Arab MKs in parliament rejected it, noting that it was intended to target them. This is the first time that such a procedure has been used in the Knesset.

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According to the Knesset’s chief legal adviser Eyal Yinon, “There is no doubt that Ghattas’s actions are extremely grave and there is strong proof of serious criminal wrongdoing.” However, he told the Times of Israel, the law states specifically that a Knesset member can only be removed for “supporting an armed struggle of a terror organisation against the State of Israel.”

The plea bargain based on which the decision was postponed, includes a modification of the indictment against Ghattas. It is conditional upon the MK acknowledging that he smuggled mobile phones to prisoners; resigning voluntarily from the Knesset on Sunday; and accepting a short prison sentence.

The discussion at the House Committee meeting included a great deal of incitement against Ghattas and the other Arab MKs. Earlier this week, the Israeli defence minister said that there is no reason why Arab Knesset members and other prominent community members should remain as Israeli citizens.