A demonstration held this weekend in support of residents of the Gaza Strip that proclaimed "Gaza's victory" in the recent round of fighting between Israel and Hamas drew some 1,000 participants, including Balad MK Hanin Zoabi. "This is a victory for the Palestinian people, and every people has the right to fight against occupation. If there were no occupation, there would be no armed resistance," Zoabi declared. The Supreme Arab Monitoring Committee initiated and organized the event, which was held in the Galilee town of Kabul. Participants waved Palestinian flags and held signs bearing slogans of support for the people of Gaza. Zoabi has often sparked controversy for her militant pro-Palestinian statements. After three Israeli Jewish teenagers were kidnapped and murdered by Hamas in June, the Knesset member said in a radio interview that the perpetrators of the crime "weren't terrorists." Earlier this month, the Israel Police recommended that the State Attorney file criminal charges against the MK for allegedly offending a public servant and inciting violence against Israeli Arab police officers on several occasions. The recommendation came after the Lahav 433 Major Crimes Unit concluded an investigation into Zoabi's actions that it launched in July after she allegedly assaulted Israeli Arab bailiffs serving at the Nazareth Magistrates' Court, accusing them of being "collaborators" and saying, "We should spit in your faces. We should wipe the floor with you." Zoabi also traveled to Qatar this month along with two other members of her party to meet with former MK Azmi Bishara, who fled Israel after he was suspected of supplying Hezbollah with coordinates to launch strikes against Israel during the Second Lebanon War. Zoabi enjoys parliamentary immunity and has failed to cooperate with the police or the State Attorney's Office.
