MK Tibi's visit in Beirut sparks rage among Israel's right wing

MK Ahmed Tibi (Ra'am-Ta'al) visited Beirut on Thursday, sparking controversy among Israel's right wing. MK Arieh Eldad (National Union-National Religious Party) said that "he who ignores the law and visits an enemy state becomes himself an enemy of the state."

The media reported Thursday morning that Tibi made a stop in Lebanon on his way back to Israel from Yemen. It is not clear whether the Israeli Arab MK held meetings with Lebanese officials during his visit.

Tibi said that the reports regarding his Lebanon visit were wildly exaggerated and were essentially untrue. According to Tibi, he was in Lebanon on a one-hour stopover. "This is a controversy over nothing," he said. "The right wing has been drawn into a baseless assault and it wants to see us [Arab MKs] outside the Knesset by way of fascist laws. I will travel to Lebanon as I please and not according to right wing hollering," Tibi added.

Tibi retuned on Thursday from Yemen after meeting with senior government officials there over the course of recent days, including Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh. Tibi was invited to lecture before students and scholars at a Yemeni university.

National Religious Party Chairman MK Zevulun Orlev, who initiated a bill that would bar MKs from visiting enemy states, said Thursday that Tibi's visit in Lebanon illustrates the urgent need to expedite the legislation. The Knesset approved the bill in its first reading this week. Tibi maintains that the bill is not worthy and illegal.

MK Eldad called on Attorney General Menachem Mazuz to prosecute Tibi. MK David Rotem (Yisrael Beiteinu) said that Tibi was once again "with a crude foot, stepping all over Israel's law."