Former Knesset member Azmi Bishara (Balad) who fled Israel in 2007 played a key role in the hostage negotiations in Paris and had a major influence on drafting the ceasefire/hostage deal between Israel and Hamas, the French newspaper Le Figaro reported on Sunday.

According to the report, Bishara, who fled to Qatar after being accused of spying for Hezbollah, now serves as a senior adviser to Qatari Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani. He has reinvented himself in Doha and is a well-known public figure with over a million followers on X.

In 2007, Bishara was accused of aiding the enemy during wartime, passing information on to the enemy and contacting foreign agents, as well as laundering money received from foreign sources. He was accused of transferring information to Hezbollah on strategic locations in Israel that should be attacked with rockets during the 2006 Lebanon War, in exchange for money. He even recommended that Hezbollah use long-range rockets in their attacks. In exchange, he allegedly received hundreds of thousands of shekels transferred to him by Hezbollah and other foreign entities by Arab money changers from East Jerusalem.

The negotiations in Paris ended without results but new hostage talks are scheduled to resume in Doha this week. An Israeli delegation headed by Mossad head David Barnea left for Doha on Monday after receiving a mandate to carry out “extensive” negotiations.

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)