Attorney General Avichai Mendelblit on Tuesday decided to indict former MK Hanin Zoabi of the Arab Balad party on fraud charges.

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Zoabi was questioned along with 35 other suspects, including then-senior Balad officials, for alleged financial irregularities in the party. Zoabi is accused of forging documents that were submitted to the State Comptroller between 2013 and 2016. She is suspected of systematically deceiving the ombudsman by misrepresenting the source of millions of shekels the party had received.

"After considering the substance of the claims at the hearing and the legal opinion presented to me, I reached the general conclusion that there is an evidentiary basis and public interest to put Ms. Zoabi on trial," Mendelblit said in a statement.

Mendelblit also decided not to indict other senior Balad officials, despite noting that the evidence indicated they were guilty and that there were legal grounds to file criminal charges against a political party.

"The possible harm of putting a party on trial is expected to not only harm its current leadership or founders or owners, but also a wider circle of citizens who have an attachment to the party and identify with its goals and public positions," the attorney general explained.

The legal team representing Balad cheered the decision not to charge the party.

"Our position in regards to the Balad party was heard within the framework of two hearings and was accepted in full by the attorney general. The decision not to file a precedential indictment against a party is an important milestone and prevents a historic legal distortion," the lawyers said in a statement.

‏‎As for Zoabi, the attorneys said they were holding hearings and negotiations with prosecutors.

Zoabi's openly hostile stance against the State of Israel had angered many over the years.

She has sparked outrage in the past with comments in support of Hamas, labeling IDF soldiers as "murderers" and other similar rhetoric.

She participated in the 2010 naval convoy that attempted to break Israel's security blockade on the Hamas-run Gaza Strip. Ten activists were killed in violence aboard the Mavi Marmara ship when they attacked Israeli naval commandos who boarded the vessel.

In April 2018, Zoabi called for the State of Israel to be dissolved and replaced with either two states – one secular and one Palestinian, or one binational secular state.

Balad, which advocates for a binational state for Palestinians and Israelis, has been dogged by controversy. Party founder Azmi Bishara fled Israel in 2007 after being accused of passing secrets to the Hezbollah terror group.

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Zoabi is suspected of fraud, aggravated forgery, using forged documents, falsifying corporate documents, attempts to receive illicit benefits and money laundering pertaining to donations amounting to millions of shekels during the 2013 Knesset and municipal election campaigns.

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The case includes suspicions of misrepresentations of the source of funds that Balad received in 2013, which were allegedly presented to the State Comptroller's Office as donations from hundreds of private citizens.

The State Comptroller's Office routinely audits all political parties to ensure that no violations of campaign financing laws take place.

Police suspect that during 2013 the party received some NIS 3.2 million ($920,000) from sources that have yet to be ascertained and fraudulently declared the funds as private donations using over 1,300 forged documents.

Zoabi is the prime suspect in the case, while 35 other Balad officials, including former director general Awad Hussein, the party's legal counsel Riyad Mahamid, and central committee members Murad Hadad and Azaldin, are suspected of fraud and lighter criminal offenses.

According to a Justice Ministry statement, Zoabi and other Balad officials perpetrated a "systematic and meticulously planned act of fraud."

A statement by Balad said: "We adamantly reject the accusations against the party, against former MK Hanin Zoabi, and against other party members for the so-called 2013 election affair. The investigation into the matter ended three years ago. The State Prosecutor's Office waited all this time only to announce its decisions on the eve of the elections, so as to damage Balad, the Joint Arab List, and Arab voters."

The party further added that the case "is an administrative matter that is under the purview of the state comptroller, which is how similar issues found among other parties have been handled. Making this into a criminal matter is a vindictive step indicative of political persecution, as clearly indicated by the timing of this announcement."

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