Bishara was questioned in Petach Tikva yesterday in what he called a "politically motivated investigation." Three police officers and Bishara watched a videotape of the speech he gave at a memorial ceremony for the late Syrian President Hafez Assad. "The inquiry was conducted as if it was an interpretation of text, and now they will decide," Bishara told reporters afterwards.

Yesterday Knesset Speaker Avraham Burg (Labor)

"I don't think there is cause for indictment" - MK Azmi Bishara

received a letter from the Inter-Parliamentary Union, which contended that MK Bishara's parliamentary rights had been infringed when the Israeli Police opened its investigations into his remarks. MK Michael Kleiner (Herut) called upon Burg to immediately dismiss the letter. "This is a rude interference in Israeli legal proceedings," Kleiner said.

Kleiner had led the initial fierce reactions among Israeli politicians to Bishara's speech. Kleiner and others charged that Bishara's remarks, attacking the Sharon government and calling for unified Arab resistance and a continuation of the Intifada, were self-serving and intentionally provocative.

Last week Bishara said that he was surprised at the "tempest that swept Israel" following his speech in Syria. In a letter addressed to the Knesset, Bishara wrote that he "wasn't surprised by the campaign of incitement and assault by right wing extremists." What did surprise Bishara was "the enlistment of segments of the 'Left' to the choir of incitement and distortion."

Chairman of the left-center One Israel faction MK Efi Oshaya said upon Bishara's return from Syria that Bishara's speech undermined the Arab sector that he was supposed to be serving and might make it appear that Israeli Arabs supported collaboration with the enemy.

"In the speech I expressed opinions that I have expressed repeatedly in various forums," Bishara responded. Bishara stated that he has repeatedly spoken of his opposition to the occupation from the Knesset podium, through the media and in various Arab forums.

Bishara's questioning yesterday was in accordance with the instructions of Attorney General Elyakim Rubinstein. Bishara is suspected of aiding the enemy, publishing seditious material and expressing support for a terrorist organization. "I don't think there is cause for indictment on the basis of the charges that they spoke about from the outset," Bishara told reporters yesterday.

Ronen Sebag, a Research Fellow at the Washington-based Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI), says "it is unlikely that Bishara will be successfully prosecuted on security grounds since he did not commit such offenses, while his possible offenses of incitement remain uninvestigated and unprosecuted."

Sebag concludes a MEMRI analysis by saying, "Bishara's case shed light on an extraordinary problem that is likely to further complicate Arab-Israeli relations in Israel. Bishara is not merely an Arab citizen who spoke against the survival of the state. He is a member of Israel's legislature, the primary function of which is, as in any nation, to defend the nation's existence and protect its citizens."

Fraudulent citizenship application assistance
The case against Minister Tarif being investigated by Israeli Police relates to charges of bribery. Tarif is reportedly suspected of having assisted Hosni Badiran, a Palestinian businessman from Baka a-Sharkiya, to obtain Israeli citizenship fraudulently.

Members of the International Crime Unit of the Israel Police questioned Tarif under caution for over four hours on Tuesday. Tarif has categorically denied the allegations against him. While refusing to grant interviews to the Israeli media, Tarif did say that interested parties who could not accept his appointment as Israel's first non-Jewish cabinet fabricated the charges.

The Israeli media reported that Tarif allegedly served as a go-between who transferred money from Badiran to Rafi Cohen, former head of the Interior Ministry's Population Registry, to assist Badiran's citizenship request. While Cohen confessed to accepting bribe money in the case, he later recanted his confession saying it was coerced from him under pressure.

Israeli Channel 2 Television reported this week that the police would recommend indicting Tarif, Badiran and Cohen in the bribery case. A police spokesman later denied this report, saying that only the police would make its recommendations after concluding its investigation.

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