Despite impassioned opposition by Meretz and the Arab parties, A law that allows the committee to revoke the salary of any MK who fails to report for questioning when summoned by the police sailed easily through its final readings on the Knesset floor Monday evening despite opposition by Meretz and Arab parties. The bill, empowers the House committee to vote to deny the salary, pension payment, and any additional payments paid to a current or former Member of Knesset.. According to the law, which was drafted in the shadow of the case involving former MK Azmi Bishara (Balad), ten Knesset members would have to request -- and the Attorney-General would have to notify the government -- that the Knesset member in question is suspected of committing an offense that could result in ten or more years' imprisonment, that the offense was carried out while serving in the Knesset, and that the person had failed to report to legal proceedings including investigation, trial or sentencingOn April 22, 2007, Bishara resigned from the Knesset via the embassy in Cairo, following a police investigation into his foreign contacts, and accusations of aiding the enemy during wartime, passing information on to the enemy and contacts with a foreign agent, as well as laundering money received from foreign sources.
