Azmi Bishara (Archive photo)
Photo: AFP
Shin Bet estimates Bishara recruiting for Hizbullah
Deputy attorney general says internal security service suspects former Arab-Israeli MK 'remains in contact with elements that are hostile to the State of Israel'
The Shin Bet internal security service estimates that former Arab-Israeli Knesset member Azmi Bishara is involved in recruitment on behalf of Hizbullah, Yedioth Ahronoth reported on Thursday.
National Conference
Roee Nahmias
Ex-Knesset member suspected of aiding Hizbullah chosen to chair Arab National Conference
According to a letter sent by Deputy Attorney General Raz Nizri to Adalah – The Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel – Bishara is wanted for questioning in regarding his ties to the Lebanese terror group.
"According to intelligence gathered by the Shin Bet, Bishara remains in contact with elements that are hostile to the State of Israel," Nizri wrote, adding that the internal security agency fears that these ties will lead to recruitment for Hizbullah and has warned members of Bishara's former party Balad not to contact him. However, the service did not prohibit contacting him.
Bishara resigned from the Knesset in April 2007 via the Israeli embassy in Cairo following the launching of a police investigation into his alleged contacts with Hizbullah.
According to the allegations, Bishara made contact with the Shiite group during the Second Lebanon War and passed along information about strategic sites in Israel in return for hundreds of thousands of dollars.
