Israeli lawmakers face probe over Syria trip

By Staff
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JERUSALEM, Sep 14 (Reuters) Israeli police opened criminal investigations today against three Arab-Israeli parliament members who travelled to Syria, violating Israeli law and causing an uproar among Jewish lawmakers.

Israeli Attorney General Menachem Mazuz determined that the trip violated the Israeli statute forbidding unauthorised travel to ''enemy'' countries.

''To knowingly travel to Syria without approval from Israel can bring four years imprisonment,'' Mazuz wrote in a letter to the police ordering the investigation.

The letter also said the members of parliament had been warned by the Justice Ministry after earlier unauthorised trips to Lebanon.

The trip to Damascus followed the Israeli war against the Syrian-backed Hizbollah militant group in Lebanon. The 34-day conflict killed nearly 1,200 people in Lebanon, mainly civilians, and 157 Israelis, mostly soldiers.

The three members of the Arab National Democratic Assembly - Jamal Zahalka, Azmi Bishara and Wasil Taha - met with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad earlier this week.

The lawmakers discussed the situation in the Palestinian territories and Arab solidarity, and spoke at college campuses in Syria, according to Arab-Israeli media.

Several Jewish lawmakers have called the trip espionage and asked for charges of treason.

An editorial in the right-leaning Jerusalem Post called on the government to take action against the lawmakers.

''Israel is at a crossroads. It must decide between inviting disloyalty, emboldening subversion and losing the last remnants of respect in its Arab community, or reaffirming the rule of law and thereby discouraging future internecine conflict,'' the Post said in the editorial, which was quoted on the official website of Israel's Foreign Ministry.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Mark Regev said the posting was not a reflection of government policy.

Tensions rose between Arab and Jewish lawmakers during Israel's war with Hizbollah, and three Arab members were forced to leave a session of parliament after heckling Defense Minister Amir Peretz during a speech. The hecklers called Peretz a war criminal.

The three members of parliament are currently in Lebanon and are expected back in Israel tomorrow.

REUTERS LL HS2243

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