Last update - 00:00 21/04/2007
Balad Chair Bishara, in Egypt, says considering staying abroad
By Yoav Stern, Jack Khoury and Shahar Ilan, Haaretz Correspondents, Haaretz Service, and The Associated Press
Balad party Chairman Azmi Bishara, who left Israel amid a police investigation into his foreign contacts was quoted Saturday as saying in Egypt that he is considering staying abroad because he fears a long term jail sentence and an end to his political career.
Bishara, a fiery nationalist Arab lawmaker, left the country earlier this month after Israeli media outlets speculated that the police investigation could lead to charges ranging from treason to corruption.
Bishara told a group of Egyptian intellectuals late Saturday that he might not return to Israel, to avoid a trial.
According to several people who attended the meeting with Bishara at the Egyptian Press Syndicate, the lawmaker said he was being investigated in Israel on accusations that include providing enemy with information at a time of war, visiting an enemy country and bringing money illegally into the state of Israel.
"I will not venture going back while these threats still stand," Bishara was quoted as saying by the intellectuals meeting with him. They spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue.
They also said that Bishara claimed the accusations are politically motivated and aim at ending his political activities, but had ruled out the possibility of resigning from the Knesset.
Bishara declined to talk to reporters on the record because no official charges have been raised yet.
Bishara met Saturday morning in Cairo with Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit, according to a report featured Saturday on an Arabic-language Web site considered to be affiliated with the party.
According to the report, Balad MK Wasil Taha was also present at the meeting.
The Web site indicated that the two lawmakers arrived in Egypt on Thursday for a meeting with Egyptian officials and with "thinkers and cultural figures."
The meeting reportedly lasted one hour, and dealt with political issues such as Egyptian diplomatic efforts and the Arab peace initiative.
Bishara has in the past angered many in Israel by openly identifying with Syria and with Lebanon's Hezbollah militants. Critics charge he has encouraged violent attacks against Israel, which Bishara denies.
Israeli police had confirmed that they were investigating Bishara's case.
Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld has said there was an inquiry against Bishara by the Israeli police international crime and investigations unit. He said the court forbade disclosing any other details, including what charges Bishara might face, until the gag order expires on April 23.
Last week, Bishara confirmed his intention to resign from the Knesset on Thursday, telling the Nazareth-based newspaper Hadith A-Nas that he is being persecuted.
Several days, later, he told Al-Jazeera in a televised interview Sunday that an ongoing criminal investigation against him has left him with three options - martyrdom, exile, or prison.
In Israel, his party issued a statement denouncing what it called a witch hunt and calling on authorities to lift the gag order and allow Bishara to clear his name. It said it was considering petitioning Israel's Supreme Court on Bishara's behalf.
The Petah Tikva Magistrate's Court ruled on Sunday that the press could discuss the existence of the probe into Bishara's activities, but not its substance, lifting a rare court order which had forbidden even the publication of the existence of a gag order.
Next week, the Knesset House Committee is expected to discuss revoking some of the benefits Bishara receives as a Knesset member. The benefits that may be revoked include free newspapers and funds given to stay in contact with the public, but not his monthly salary.