Hamas paid for Arab MK’s trip to Jordan

Arab-Israeli Member of Knesset Hanin Zoabi made a visit to Jordan earlier this year that was paid for by the Hamas terrorist organization. 

Arab-Israeli lawmaker Hanin Zoabi (Joint Arab List) made a visit to Jordan on June 16 of this year for an appearance on al-Quds TV.  Named after the Islamic name for Jerusalem, “al-Quds,” the TV channel is controlled and operated by the Hamas terrorist organization, which sponsored Zoabi’s trip.

The details of Zoabi’s trip, originally reported on by Galey Israel Radio, were gleaned out of a report by the Knesset’s Ethics Committee, which monitors trips abroad taken by Members of Knesset as well as those who sponsor and provide for travel expenses.

“MKs are allowed to be interviewed for various media outlets in Israel and the world, and the Ethics Committee cannot censor them, even if they are criticizing government policies,” a Knesset spokesman explained in a statement.

Members of Knesset, however, are obligated to report to the committee on any trips not provided for and arranged by the Knesset.

Zoabi dismissed the outcry from some of her colleagues in the Knesset, including coalition chairman David Bitan (Likud), who said that “Zoabi does not belong in the Knesset.”

“It must be understood that Hamas is a legitimate political organization that won its status in the Palestinian nation that elected it, and the organization doesn’t need authorizations from anyone,” Zoabi insisted.

“It is more important to focus on topics like the occupation and cruel oppression of the Palestinian people, as well as the war crimes committed against it,” she added.

This is not the first time that the controversial MK has caused uproar in the Knesset. For example, she was on board the Mavi Marmara flotilla during the incident in which nine Turkish nationals were killed after beating IDF soldiers with metal pipes.

After the kidnapping and murder of three Israeli teens by Hamas terrorists in June 2014, Zoabi said that “(the kidnappers) are not terrorists……they are people who do not see any way to change their reality, and they are compelled to use means like these.”

Both instances, among others, led to accusations of treason from members of Knesset.

By: Jonathan Benedek, World Israel News

David BitanHamasHanin ZoabiMavi Marmara