JERUSALEM, July 2 (Xinhua) -- Former Israeli-Arab lawmaker Basel Ghattas started on Sunday to serve his 24-month sentence in jail for smuggling mobile phones to Palestinian prisoners in an Israeli jail.
In Arab and Hebrew statements to the press outside the Gilboa prison in the northern district, Ghattas said he entered jail "proud, with my head up and with a real public support of my people."
Ghattas, a lawmaker with the Arab-Jewish Joint List party, vowed to continue his political activity after his release. "I will continue to defend the prisoners' rights and bring their case to the public attention," he said.
A few dozen families and friends accompanied him until the prison gate, chanting "freedom to Palestine" and singing "my country, my land, my soul."
On April 9, the Beersheba Magistrate's Court accepted a deal reached between Ghattas and the State Attorney's Office, in which he was convicted of delivering means that could be used to carry out an act of terror. He was also convicted of fraud and breach of trust.
According to the court's rule, Ghattas smuggled into the Ktzi'ot Prison in the Negev Desert a dozen of mobile phones, 16 SIM cards, two charges, and an earphone.
He delivered the gear to Walid Daka, who serves a 31-year sentence for killing an Israel Defense Forces soldier.
His conviction came after the Knesset (parliament) voted to revoke his parliamentary immunity, allowing his indictment.
Ghattas was a legislator with Balad, an Arab nationalist party that frequently challenges the Israeli establishment over Palestinian issues.
Israel's Arab minority constitutes around a fifth of the population.
