Judge Menachem Mizrahi of the Rishon Lezion Magistrate’s Court ordered MK Basel Ghattas (Balad Party / Arab Joint List) released from police custody to 10 days’ house arrest on Tuesday, disappointing police who had requested a remand to house arrest of 45 days.
Attorneys for the lawmaker also requested permission for their client to participate in voting at the Knesset. Since his arrest on December 23, Ghattas has been barred from voting in the Israeli parliament; the lawmaker can participate in Knesset activities but must be escorted at all times by police officers.
Ghattas has spent the past six days in police custody after being arrested after interrogation by investigators from the Israel Police Lahav 433 Serious Crimes Unit that included confrontation with evidence that he had passed coded messages and communications equipment to Hamas terrorist convicts serving time in Ketziot Prison.
He was arrested after allegedly abusing his parliamentary immunity to smuggle cellphones, SIM cards and coded messages to Palestinian Authority security prisoners. As a Knesset member, Ghattas had been permitted to enter Ketziot Prison without submitting to normal prison security measures.
Meanwhile, police say they have also arrested an additional suspect in the case, a 51-year-old of resident of the Arab town Zemer, located in central Israel. Police say they believe the second suspect provided the cell phones to Ghattas to give to the prisoners.
He too was scheduled to appear in the Rishon Lezion Magistrate’s Court, and police were expected to extend his remand.
According to Hebrew-language Channel 2 television news, the suspect is related to Walid Daka, who was convicted of the 1984 abduction and murder of IDF soldier Moshe Tamam. Daka, who was subsequently sentenced to 37 years in prison, is one of the Hamas terrorist prisoners with whom Ghattas allegedly met during the criminal incident currently under investigation.
Andrew Friedman and TPS contributed content to this report.