Arab MKs travel to Qatar, possibly meet fugitive colleague

A number of Israeli Arab Knesset members traveled to Qatar last week, Channel 2 reports, with conflicting reports on whether they met with a former MK who fled Israel and is suspected of spying for Hezbollah.

According to the Channel 2 report, the Balad party’s three MKs — Jamal Zahalka, Hanin Zoabi, and Basel Ghattas — visited Qatar, a country said to have close ties to Hamas, in recent days. There they reportedly met with party founder Azmi Bishara, a former MK and academic who has lived there in self-imposed exile since 2007. He fled Israel after being investigated over suspicions that he provided Hezbollah with information during the Second Lebanon War.

Former Israeli Arab Knesset member Azmi Bishara (photo credit: Flash90)

A spokesman for the party tells Israel Radio that he is not aware of the three meeting with Bishara. He says they traveled to Qatar to conduct a series of interviews to the media (Al Jazeera is based in Qatar) and to meet with academics, and adds that the trip’s expenses were paid for privately.