Quick Facts
Biography
Dr Basel Ghattas (Arabic: باسل غطاس, Hebrew: באסל גטאס; born 23 March 1956) is an Israeli Arab politician. A member of Balad, he currently serves as a member of the Knesset for the Joint List alliance. In December 2016, he was stripped of his diplomatic immunity and arrested after he was caught on video providing Palestinian security prisoners with cell phones and SIM cards.
Biography
A Christian Arab, Ghattas originates from Rameh. During high school he established the National Committee of Arab High School students with his cousin, Azmi Bishara. During his time at university he also established Arab student groups.
After finishing university he opened an engineering firm in Rameh. At the age of 22 he was elected Deputy Leader of the town council as a member of Rakah, which later became Maki. He was ejected from the party in 1990 after challenging its pro-Soviet stance. He then helped found Brit Shivyon, a short-lived Jewish-Arab movement, before becoming a founder member of Balad in 1995.
He later attended the Technion, where he gained a PhD in environmental engineering, and joined the Galilee Society, an NGO involved in health and environmental issues with the Arab community. In 2007 he established Malakom, the only business magazine targeted at the Israeli Arab community.
Having initially chosen not to run for the Knesset after Balad was founded, in 2012 Ghattas was placed third on the party's list for the 2013 Knesset elections, and was elected to the Knesset as the party won three seats. Prior to the 2015 elections Balad joined the Joint List alliance; Ghattas was placed eleventh on the alliance's list, and was re-elected as it won 13 seats.
On 22 December 2016, hours before a planned Knesset vote to strip Ghattas of his parliamentary immunity, Ghattas relinquished his parliamentary immunity and was arrested shortly after police found 12 cellphones and 16 SIM cards on Palestinian security prisoners whom he had visited. Ghattas faces charges of aiding terrorists, complicity in committing a felony, deceptive practices, breach of trust and violation of the Prison Service code.