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JERUSALEM, March 17 (Xinhua) -- Israel's prosecution announced Friday a plea bargain was signed with Israeli-Arab lawmaker Basel Ghattas, who was charged with smuggling mobile phones for Palestinian prisoners in an Israeli jail.
Under the deal, Ghattas admits smuggling mobile phones and documents to Hamas prisoners, providing means that could be used for acts of terror and breach of trust.
Ghattas agreed to spend two years in prison.
The Be'er Sheva Magistrate Court is expected to approve the deal in the next few days.
As a result, Ghattas will have to resign from the parliament, the Knesset, on Sunday.
In December, Ghattas was arrested after he was caught on security cameras smuggling an envelope with 12 mini cellular phones, 16 SIM cards, two chargers, an earphone, and documents.
Ghattas, 60, is a lawmaker with Balad, an Arab nationalist party that frequently confronts with the Israeli establishment over Palestinian issues. Balad is part of the Joint List faction, a coalition of Arab and Jewish-Arab factions that holds 13 seats in the 120-member Knesset.
Israel's Arab minority makes up about a fifth of the Israeli population. Arab citizens in Israel are Palestinians who stayed put during Israel's 1948 Independence War.
