The Knesset House Committee Tuesday overwhelmingly rejected an appeal by Druze MK Said Naffaa for immunity in the face of an indictment that charges him with visiting Syria, an enemy state, and meeting with terrorists.
The 9-2 vote followed a raucous shouting match in which MK Naffaa accused government institutions of racism and exploiting the Druze community. “They see Druze as a trained flock whose place is to serve in the IDF and Border Police unit without being retreated with sensitivity,” he charged.
House Committee chairman Yariv Levin of the Likud party declared, “Holding a Knesset seat is not a permit to visit enemy countries and hold meetings with terrorists.” National Union Knesset Member Dr. Michael Ben-Ari suggested that MK Naffaa and "his colleagues go to the Syrian parliament and work from there.”
Outgoing Attorney-General Menachem Mazuz previously has announced that the Druze MK will be indicted for a meeting in 2007 with the deputy leader of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) and with terrorists at the offices of Damascus-based Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal.
MK Naffaa did not address the charges but said that other MKs have met or have tried to meet with Iranian and Hamas officials. However, none of the meetings took place on enemy soil.
The MK insisted, “I have no intention of hiding behind immunity. But the circumstances of the visit dictate that the place for this discussion is in the Knesset and not the courts. I did not hurt the country's security.”