Ghattas
Photo: Ido Erez
MKs petition for Ghattas to be denied parliamentary rights
Due to two allegations against MK Basel Ghattas (Joint List)—one for smuggling phones to security prisoners and the other for alleged donation fraud—Ghattas now faces attempts to strip him of his MK rights and benefits.
MK Basel Ghattas (Joint List) is currently facing two separate police investigations, the first on supposedly smuggling cellular phones to security prisoners and the second for alleged money laundering. As the investigations move forward, so do opposing MKs' attempts to oust Ghattas from the Knesset or deny him monetary rights awarded to sitting MKs.
Ghattas spoke to the police's Lahav 443 Special Investigations Unit on Monday regarding the money laundering case. He was questioned under warning before being released to his home.
Ghattas (Photo: Ido Erez)
The abovementioned investigation alleges that the Arab faction Balad, which is part of the Joint List party, received donations from Arab nations considered hostile to Israel, going against Israeli law, and proceeded to launder the money. This was allegedly carried out by registering fictitious individuals as the donors.
Ghattas is suspected of forgery, receiving an item under fraudulent pretenses, false registry and money laundering. He responded by describing the investigation as "political persecution intended to hurt the party's image."
Ghattas is also at risk of being ousted from the Knesset over the phone smuggling affair, though the possibility of collecting 90 MK votes for it seem rather slim. So far, 71 votes in support of removing Ghattas have been gathered, 61 of them from the coalition. Benny Begin (Likud) and Yael German (Yesh Atid) refused to sign the petition, with German being the only MK from her party to not sign it.
As Ghattas was recently barred from attending the Knesset plenum, he is currently receiving all of his MK benefits—among them a NIS 42,000 monthly salary, a car, three assistants and a NIS 70,000 yearly budget to keep in contact with voters—without being allowed to actively represent his voters in the Knesset.
Due to this situation, MK Eli Cohen (Kulanu) submitted a bill that aims to bypass the Knesset Impeachment Law, which would prevent any MK who faces over 10 years in prison from continuing to receive said benefits until their verdict is announced. This would deny Ghattas MK benefits up until his verdict.
"It is inconceivable that sitting MKs use their immunity against the state and continue to receive a salary and other benefits while they are suspended and have serious allegations of harming state security stacked against them," said Cohen on his bill.
