BISHARA SUSPECTED OF COLLABORATING WITH HEZBOLLAH

Azmi Bishara, who phoned in his resignation from the Knesset recently, is suspected of aiding the Hezbollah:

Azmi Bishara is suspected of having aided Israel's enemies during the Second Lebanon War.

The information came to light after the Petah Tikva Magistrate's Court partially lifted the gag order that was imposed on the case since Bishara left Israel.

Bishara is suspected of transferring information to Hizbullah during the war, of maintaining contacts with a foreign agent, and of money laundering.

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Recently Bishara tendered his resignation from the Knesset, but as a former MK he continues to hold many of the privileges of an elected official - a situation that the State of Israel cannot accept, MKs said on Tuesday.

MKs from the right-wing parties were discussing ways to revoke some of Bishara's pension privileges, including the more than NIS 72,000-a-year pension that he will receive for the next decade for his years of Knesset service. The MKs, who asked to remain anonymous, said that they were planning to file a complaint against Bishara in the Ethics Committee.

"How can we accept a situation in which this man dishonors the state and yet we continue to pay him, like freierim [suckers], and give him all his privileges?" said one MK.

Bishara was last known to be in Egypt, but even his colleagues in Balad said they did not know his current whereabouts.

If Bishara were to move to Syria, one of the countries that he is rumored to be considering for residence, the MKs said that there should be a legal way to stop funds from reaching him.

Bishara, meanwhile, has promised that he will return to Israel to confront the charges being leveled against him. There is a court-imposed gag order that prohibits the publication of suspicions against him or details of the police investigation.

Frankly, I doubt he'll return so soon, since an arrest warrant could be issued for him. He's also sent someone to gather the rest of his belongings, and if he hasn't left anything behind, then it's unlikely he'll be back, if at all. He certainly shouldn't be allowed any benefits as an erstwhile Knesset member, and steps should be taken to bar him from even that.