Hanin Zoabi
Hanin ZoabiMiriam Alster/Flash 90

A Nazareth court convicted Arab MK Hanin Zoabi (Joint List) on Thursday of a her role in a confrontation she had with police in her hometown of Nazareth in July 2014.

Zoabi was indicted earlier this month after pleading guilty in December to the charge of insulting public officials, as part of a plea bargain with prosecutors relating to comments she made during the clash. 

During the incident, the firebrand MK accosted Arab police officers guarding a protest in the northern city, calling them "traitors" and accusing them of being "collaborators."

"We need to spit on their faces, we need to mop them off the floor. We must not shake their hands, nor let them be among us. They should be afraid of us when we're in the street," she shouted to protestors. 

However, the court dispute on Thursday stemmed from prosecutors' demands that Zoabi remain on probation for three years with the stipulation she go to jail for a year if she violates her probation. 

"I had no intention of insulting a public official; that is not my way," Zoabi said in court Thursday. "This is my inner truth and my way is through politics. My struggle is not against people."