JERUSALEM (JTA) — Israel’s Supreme Court rejected a lawsuit seeking an indictment against Arab-Israeli lawmaker Hanin Zoabi for participating in a 2010 flotilla aiming to break the naval blockade of Gaza.
The high court handed down its ruling on Monday on a lawsuit filed after the attorney general declined to indict Zoabi, agreeing with the attorney general that convicting Zoabi would be difficult.
Former Knesset member Michael Ben-Ari, right-wing activist Itamar Ben Gvir and the Eretz Yisrael Shelanu movement filed the suit.
Zoabi participated in the May 2010 flotilla on the Mavi Marmara, the ship on which nine Turkish passengers were killed in clashes with Israeli commandos. She was punished by the Knesset Ethics Committee for her actions. She also has been accused of incitement against Israel and its military.
Zoabi, of the Balad party, in July 2011 was stripped of her parliamentary benefits by the Ethics Committee as well as her diplomatic passport. She also lost her right to visit countries with no ties to Israel
The Supreme Court had previously overturned a ruling by the Central Election Commission to prevent Zoabi from running in the last election.
