Balad MKs: Police Investigation "Political Witch Hunt"

Jerusalem, 10 October, 2016 (TPS) -- Balad MKs and party activists demonstrated outside the police Special Investigations Unit, Lahav 433 Monday, both to to protest the opening of investigations against MKs Basel Ghattas and Jamal Zahalka (Joint List), and to celebrate the release of former Balad MK Said Nafa from prison.

Nafa served a year at Gilboa Prison following a conviction for making an unauthorized visit to Syria in 2007 and for making contact with foreign agents. In 2011 the Nazareth District Court found Nafa guilty of an illegal visit to an enemy state, and of meeting Talal Naji, deputy director general of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine. He was acquitted of charges that he met with head of the Hamas politburo Khaled Mashal.

Ghattas and Zahalka are suspected of violating campaign finance laws.

In a defiant statement, Zahalka told Israel Radio that the party has provided all  required documentation to the state comptroller’s office, but added that the very fact of a police investigation was a premeditated strike at Balad.

“Financially, we have nothing to hide. We’ve given all our reporting to the state comptroller and I think the entire issue should begin and end there,” Zahalka said. “But the very fact that the file was transferred to the police was a political move. It was aimed at hurting Balad.”

Zahalka added that Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s and Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman’s recent call to boycott Joint List MKs over the faction’s decision not to attend Shimon Peres’ funeral was “proof positive” that the prime minister is on a “political witch hunt” against the party.

“For anyone who still had any question about it, Netanyahu’s suggestion to boycott members of the Joint List removes all doubt. From the time of the elections right up until the present time, Netanyahu has not stopped inciting against the Arab community. He supported the bill [to allow a special Knesset majority to suspend MKs  who support terrorism], he banned the Islamic Movementt, and now he is trying to boycott the Joint List.

“We go to our police investigators as accusers, not as the accused,” Zahalka said.