Former Israeli-Arab MK Azmi Bishara, on the run from the law and living in Jordan, appeared on Hizbullah television over the weekend. “Fatah and Hamas must form a strategic unification including all resistance movements,” Bishara advised. “This will allow us to meet our goal.”
Bishara faces charges of treason, aiding enemy forces in wartime, contacting a foreign agent, funding terror activates and money laundering if he returns to Israel. Both Hamas and Hizbullah have issued statements in support of Bishara.
Bishara’s TV appearance heralded Israel’s retreat from Lebanon in 2000 as a great precedent. “The victory in 2000 was a victory not just for Lebanon, but for all Arab people,” he said. “Lessons must be learned from this victory.” Asked by a Jordanian paper whether he was considering going back to Israel, Bishara said: “I don’t like Israel. I never liked sitting in the Knesset. It was a sacrifice and a concession I made with myself.”