Mk Oren Hazan said in a statement on Wednesday that he has decided to forgo his diplomatic immunity and is therefore expected to stand trial for assaulting a public official, embarrassing a public official, and misconduct in a public setting.

According to the law of immunity, Hazan could have asked the Knesset for diplomatic immunity within the first 30 days of the charges being filed against him, however, he decided to forgo that option.

In April, Hazan was accused of attacking a public official after he attacked the Director of City Hall of Ariel and embarrassed the city’s Mayor during a dispute over the outstanding property tax owed by his mother for a restaurant that she owns in the city.

The restaurant, which is called Baba Grill, is located in Ariel and in 2014 Hazan’s mother Aviva, received a notice that her bank account was being frozen as the tax payments were in arrears for more than 8 years since the eatery opened. Once Hazan found out about the situation, he went to City Hall building and spoke to Avi Ezer, the Director of City Hall as well as Mayor Eli Shviro.

Hazan approached Ezer, cursed him out and pushed him violently. He then proceeded to curse the Mayor and threaten him by saying: “I will take care of you and ensure that you no longer sit in your chair.”

Hazan’s lawyers, Attorney Zion Amir and Attorney Ephraim Dimri expressed their shock that the Attorney General would file an indictment against Hazan “for a dispute that took place between two politicians years ag before Hazan was elected to the Knesset. We thought that this case would be left alone and archived as it has been left alone for so long. Now that the accused is in the Knesset, someone breathed life into it, and  much to our chagrin, has seen fit to bring the incident back to life. It would be fitting for this case to be closed.”

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)