Last update - 00:00 17/09/2006
Police expands probe of Israeli Arab MKs' visit to Syria, Lebanon
By Jack Khoury and Yoav Stern, Haaretz Correspondents
Police on Sunday summoned former Balad MK Mohammed Miari for questioning over his participation in a party delegation which recently visited Syria and Lebanon.
Miari is Balad's Secretary General, and served as a Knesset member on behalf of the Progressive Peace Party from 1984 to 1992.
He is the fourth member of the Israeli Arab Knesset faction to be summoned by police for his tour of neighboring Arab countries. Current Balad MKs Azmi Bishara, Jamal Zahalka and Wasil Taha, who led the delegation, were warned before their trip that they would be questioned upon their return.
The delegation knowingly defied a law prohibiting Israeli lawmakers from visiting hostile countries without official government permission.
Balad party members believe the law - passed after a previous visit by Bishara to Damascus five years ago - infringes on their constitutional rights and will be rejected by the courts.
"Expressing solidarity with the Lebanese and their stance is more important than any legal formalities," Balad leader Bishara told reporters in Beirut.
During their travels, the delegation met with Syrian President Bashar Assad, Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Seniora, and toured the south Beirut suburb of Dahia, considered to be a Hezbollah stronghold.
Syria: We will not wait long for the return of the Golan
Syria will not wait long for the Golan Heights to be returned to its control, Syrian Public Relations Minister Muhsan Balal said Sunday in an interview with the Egyptian weekly Al-Ahram Al-Arabi.
Balal said that Syria has waited 37 years for the enforcement of United Nations resolutions on the matter, adding that patience in Syria is beginning to wear thin.
The Syrian minister said that the final drawing of its own borders could only begin once Israel has withdrawn from the contested Shaba Farms region.
Balal said that Syria would not cooperate with UN resolution 1701 on the matter of Shaba Farms. The implementation of the resolution, which is to define Lebanese areas which Israel must withdraw from, would be severely hindered by Syria's refusal to cooperate.
"Sixteen years have passed and we haven't reached our goals," said Balal. "I want to say that the people of Syria will not wait long to return the Golan to our hands. The people of Syria have lost their patience," he added.