Balad chairman MK Azmi Bishara called on Syria to beware of an Israeli attack. Bishara, who is visiting Damascus, said during his meeting with senior Baath officials that, "Israel could attack more than one location in an effort to overcome its domestic crisis, and to improve its power of deterrence following the war in Lebanon."

Bishara, who joined other members of the Balad Knesset faction visiting Syria, expressed his support for Syria and for the country's struggle to free "occupied Arab land." He also praised Syria's support for "resistance to the occupation."

The Balad MKs were to meet with Syrian leaders, in violation of Israeli law.

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The delegation has expressed its solidarity with the Lebanese people harmed in the Israel-Hezbollah war, for which it blamed Israel. "The public in Lebanon and in Israel are the victims of the same policy," said Balad MK Jamal Zahalka, who headed to Damascus on Thursday, along with MK Wasal Taha.

"We don't see Syria as an enemy state," Zahalka said Friday, in an interview with Israel Radio from Syria. "There is an opportunity today to discuss peace."

Friday's visit marks the first time in five years that Bishara has been to Syria. In the wake of his 2001 visit, the Knesset passed a law prohibiting Knesset members from traveling to enemy countries.

MK Avigdor Lieberman, chairman of the right-wing Yisrael Beiteinu party, said Friday there was no difference between the Balad delegation's trip and an act of espionage against the Jewish state.

The Balad party released a statement this week saying that the MKs' visit was "the realization of the right of Arabs in Israel to remain in contact with Arab nations."

Party officials said the delegation was seeking a just peace in the Middle East. Members of the Balad delegation expressed their fear of a "second round" of fighting in Lebanon, and called for refraining from additional wars.

The MKs had planned to go to Syria two months ago, but put off the trip due to the political tensions surrounding the war.