Arab Israeli MP gets suspended sentence for police 'insult'

An Arab Israeli lawmaker known for her sharp criticism of Israeli policies has been given a six-month suspended sentence for insulting police officers, officials said on Sunday.
The incident dates to July 2014, when Hanin Zoabi called two Arab Israeli police officers "traitors".

Her comments were made at a court hearing in the city of Nazareth for young Arabs arrested after protests to denounce the burning alive of Palestinian teenager Mohammed Abu Khdeir by three Israelis.

She was also ordered to pay a fine of 3,000 shekels ($770, 690 euros), the Nazareth magistrates' court decision read.

Zoabi is a member of the Balad party which is on the Joint List, a coalition of Arab Israeli parties in parliament. The Joint List has 13 seats out of the parliament's 120, including three for Balad.

She was one of three Arab Israeli lawmakers who recently met relatives of Palestinians killed after attacking Israelis, a move that drew harsh condemnation from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Basel Ghattas, Jamal Zahalka and Zoabi attended a meeting initiated by a Palestinian committee seeking to retrieve the bodies of attackers killed by Israeli security forces, Balad said.

Israel has returned the bodies of some attackers but retained others since a wave of Palestinian knife, gun and car-ramming attacks erupted in October.

Zoabi also sparked outrage in Israel by taking part in a Gaza-bound aid flotilla in 2010.

Arab Israelis hold Israeli citizenship but largely sympathise with the Palestinian cause.
Source: AFP