Police Crack Down on Arab Israeli Party on Fraud Suspicions
Israel Police raided the homes and offices of dozens of activists for the Israeli-Arab Knesset party Balad Sunday morning. Senior Balad figures and activists, lawyers and accountants, were arrested for suspected involvement in a series of offenses involving money that was received and used to fund the party. Party documents and other materials were seized, and suspects’ assets and bank accounts were frozen.
No Balad Knesset members were arrested.
Police spokespersons said that an investigation that has been going on for several years revealed the systematic misrepresentation of the origin of millions of shekels (at least hundreds of thousands of USD), defrauding Israeli authorities and the state comptroller.
While Balad reported the money to be donated from hundreds of donors in Israel, the police suspects the funds were in fact received from other sources in Israel and around the world. Police have not provided further details on the origin of the money.
Balad Party members allegedly committed a series of financial offenses, including money laundering, false reporting, forgery, receiving an object by deception under aggravated circumstances and numerous violations of the Political Parties Financing Law.
Balad is part of the Joint List faction in the Israeli parliament, a conglomeration of three Arab-majority parties. Balad describes itself as a “national party for the Palestinian citizens of Israel,” and is more nationalistic compared to the dovish and socialist Hadash party and the Islamic religious United Arab List.
The party released a statement on Sunday morning, rejecting the allegations and condemning the arrests as “political persecution.”
“This is a dangerous escalation and another stage in the campaign of political persecution against the Arab minority and its political movements,” read the statement by Balad. “The real purpose is to silence Balad and harm its role as spearhead in the struggle against oppression and discrimination. Like in the past, this attempt will fail and the mountain will turn out to be a mouse.”
Balad is known for supporting the Palestinians and fiercely opposing the Israeli government, and is often referred to as extremist by mainstream Israeli politicians and figures. Party member Hanin Zoabi participated in the 2010 Mavi Marmara flotilla to Gaza which was raided and stopped by IDF forces, and was recently criticized for calling Israeli soldiers “murderers” in the Knesset plenum.
In February, Zoabi and fellow Balad MKs Jamal Zahalka and Basel Ghattas were suspended for four months from all Knesset deliberations for meeting with and honoring families of Palestinian terrorists.
The current investigation was initiated several years ago following a report by State Comptroller Joseph Shapira. It was authorized by the previous attorney general Yehuda Weinstein, in accordance with the state attorney’s recommendation. The covert investigation was closely monitored by the state attorney’s office.