Dozens of Druze religious leaders protested on Thursday outside the National Fraud Unit headquarters in Petach Tikva as police questioned Druze MK Sayid Naffaa (Balad) for a second time. Naffaa is being questioned in connection to a trip he took to Syria without government permission. A second Druze member of Balad, Niad Malhem, is being questioned as well and is suspected of security crimes.
The sheikhs showed support for Naffaa and Malhem, and said that Israel “cannot trample our right to visit our families” by forbidding visits to Syria and other enemy states. Naffaa told reporters it was his right to visit Syria if he wished to do so, with or without government permission. The sheikhs expressed hope that they would return to Syria next year.