Arab lawmaker in Israel makes Jordan home

AMMAN, Jordan, May 23 (UPI) -- A controversial Arab lawmaker in the Israeli parliament has decided against facing his foes by choosing Jordan as his new home.

Azmi Bishara resigned from the Israeli Knesset in April -- a resignation he handed to the Israeli Embassy in Cairo, after the Israeli authorities accused him of providing top secret information to the "enemy" during last summer's Israeli war in Lebanon.

He is accused of sharing the information with the Lebanese Shiite Hezbollah organization, which fiercely resisted the Israeli ground attacks in southern Lebanon during the 34-day war. The conflict began when Hezbollah fired rockets into northern Israel and kidnapped two Israeli soldiers on the border.

A source close to Bishara told United Press International in the Jordanian capital that the lawmaker "chose Amman as a permanent base for his residence during this stage."

Bishara, a leftist and Arab nationalist, has been an outspoken opponent of consecutive Israeli governments and enjoys widespread popularity among intellectuals and activists in the Arab world. The Israeli authorities' accusations and threats to put him on trial is largely seen in the Arab world as an Israeli attempt to further marginalize and stifle the Arab minority in Israel.

Jordan and Egypt are the only two Arab countries to have signed peace treaties with Israel.