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MK Ahmad Tibi said he would petition Israel's High Court of Justice against the Knesset's decision to revoke his freedom of movement.
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| By Ellis Shuman June 26, 2002 |
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MK Ahmad Tibi (Ta-al) said he would petition Israel's High Court of Justice against the Knesset's decision yesterday to revoke his freedom of movement. The Knesset vote followed Tibi's clashes with Israeli soldiers at roadblocks outside Ramallah and his visit to the Jenin refugee camp, where he voiced support for those who had resisted the IDF.
"This is an exploitation of Knesset House Rules, intended to harm the political freedom of an elected parliamentarian," Tibi said in response to the Knesset decision. "This is a black day for Israeli democracy. This proves that Israel may be a democratic state for its Jewish citizens, but it is a Jewish state for its Arab citizens," he told Army Radio.
As a Knesset Member, Tibi is entitled to parliamentary immunity protecting him from arrests, court indictments, and granting him freedom of movement in areas where the movement of Israeli citizens is restricted.
The Knesset voted 29 - 23 to revoke Tibi's movement privileges. The motion was submitted by MK Michael Eitan (Likud), who based his case on television footage of clashes Tibi had with soldiers at roadblocks outside Ramallah, when he tried to visit Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat, and reports of his visit to the Jenin refugee camp in violation of military closure orders.
"He worked for Arafat and the terror organizations, and used his movement privileges to get around IDF roadblocks and support the terrorists," Eitan said. Before his election to the Knesset in 1999, Tibi served as Arafat's personal adviser.
Tibi reportedly described the Palestinian resistance to the Israeli army's capture of Jenin refugee camp in April as "an act of noble heroism." He denied calling the IDF's actions there a "massacre," but told Army Radio that "war crimes" were committed in the camp. "I went there to see in my own eyes what had happened," Tibi said. "There are things you can feel and smell in a refugee camp. I smelled the smell of death in Jenin."
Tibi described himself as a "Palestinian patriot, but also a citizen of the State of Israel and a member of the Knesset. Since when do they punish a man who supports the culture of his people? My critics on the right are unable to confront me on the ideological level, so they resort to antidemocratic means," he told the Associated Press.
"Tibi takes advantage of the democracy existing here in Israel in order to encourage Israel's enemies," charged MK Zvi Hendel (National Religious Party).
Communications Minister Reuven Rivlin (Likud) said that Israel is in a state of war with Tibi's people. "Can you imagine what would happen if an American Senator would go to meet with bin Laden as the American army operated in Afghanistan? There is a limit as to how far the principles of democracy can be stretched."
Knesset House Committee chairman Yossi Katz (Labor) said the Knesset's decision would only affect Tibi's movement within Israel, since MKs' immunity privileges are not extended beyond the country's sovereign borders. In the territories, military orders are applied to MKs and citizens alike, Katz said.
MK Nissim Zeev (Shas) said the whole move against Tibi was "futile," because MKs are blocked from security areas in any case. "This will just give Tibi public relations," he said.
The Knesset last moved to restrict a parliamentarian's movement privileges in 1993, when it imposed restrictions against MK Hashem Mahameed for a three-month period. Similar restrictions were also imposed on the late Kach leader Meir Kahane.
In November, the Knesset House Committee voted to lift the parliamentary immunity of MK Azmi Bishara (Balad), opening the way for him to be tried for statements he made supporting the Hizbullah and for arranging illegal visits to Syria for Israeli Arabs. Legislation has been introduced that would prevent politicians who express support for terror organizations, and their party lists, from standing for Knesset elections.
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