Azmi Bishara, former chairman of the Israeli Arab Balad party, has characterized Israel as a "foreign entity" uninterested in peace, that follows the same path as the Crusaders.
Bishara, who fled to Jordan last year to avoid charges for crimes such as contact with the enemy, last week granted an interview with a Nazareth-based newspaper al-Anwan al-Raisy in which he hinted that there is little chance Israel will survive long-term in the Middle East.
He told the paper that "Israel is not looking for solutions but for arrangements with its neighbors, just like the Crusader state did with its surroundings. Israel is a foreign state that refuses to live in peace in its surroundings."
On the topic of renewed negotiations between Syria and Israel, the former MK said he saw little prospect for peace emerging from the talks as Damascus would never give up its relations with Hezbollah and Syria.
Regarding the state of his faction since his departure, Bishara said Balad was stronger than ever. He said his own self-imposed exile to Jordan was modeled after that of the prophet Mohammed, who fled Mecca and returned after 10 years to rule in the name of Islam.
Most of the allegations against Bishara involve contact with Hezbollah intelligence agencies, which the police and the Shin Bet say were responsible for collecting intelligence on Israel during the Second Lebanon War.
