Police investigate former Joint List MK over alleged incitement, identifying with terror

Heba Yazbek was barred from running for Knesset in 2019 by the Central Elections Committee over controversial posts shared on social media, which the High Court overturned in a 5-4 ruling
TPS, Ynet|Updated:
Former Joint List MK Heba Yazbak was questioned by police on Monday on suspicion of incitement and identification with a terrorist act.
  • Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter

  • Yazbak was investigated at the offices of the Lahav 433 investigation Unit following videos and messages she posted on social media before becoming a legislator in 2019.
    2 View gallery
    ועדת הבחירות בדיון על פסילת חברי כנסת
    ועדת הבחירות בדיון על פסילת חברי כנסת
    Former Joint List MK Heba Yazbak
    (Photo: Shalev Shalom)
    Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit approved the investigation.
    A 2015 Facebook post featured a photo of Lebanese terrorist Samir Kuntar, who took part in a 1979 terror attack in Nahariya, killing Danny Haran and slashing the skull of his four-year-old daughter, Einat Haran.
    She shared the post following Kuntar's death in Syria, calling him the "martyr."
    In addition, she shared a post in 2013 with a picture of female terrorist Dalal Mughrabi, who led the terrorist squad that carried out the attack on Highway 2 in 1978, in which 35 Israelis were killed, including 12 children.
    Yazbak added to the picture of Mograbi the words "Dalal Mograbi lived 20 years and did it all. Blessed be the women of the resistance."
    2 View gallery
    Samir Kuntar with Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in Lebanon in 2009
    Samir Kuntar with Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in Lebanon in 2009
    Samir Kuntar with Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in Lebanon in 2009
    (Photo: AP)
    The former lawmaker slammed the investigation as "political and illegitimate," stating that the posts in question were "already discussed in the Supreme Court" when she was disqualified from running for Knesset.
    Yazbak served as an MK for Joint List's Balad faction, being elected to the 23rd Knesset after the High Court of Justice approved her candidacy after reversed a decision of the Central Elections Committee to block her run over the same posts she is now being investigated for.
    In the final verdict, the Justices, who voted 5-4 in favor of overturning Yazbak's barring, wrote that "the narrow result we reached illustrates how close Yazbak would be to finding herself outside Knesset. There is no place to 'celebrate' the end result. There is room for introspection if this is the way to advance the cause of Israeli Arabs."
    First published: 20:18, 07.05.21
    Comments
    The commenter agrees to the privacy policy of Ynet News and agrees not to submit comments that violate the terms of use, including incitement, libel and expressions that exceed the accepted norms of freedom of speech.
    ""