Israeli Arab MP Azmi Bishara, a staunch opponent of Israel’s policies towards the Palestinians and neighbouring Arab states, is set to resign from parliament, a report said on Monday.

Bishara, who is currently in Jordan to promote his latest book, “will tender his resignation from the Knesset (parliament) on Tuesday,” the Israeli Arab-language Assennara daily said on its Website.

According to the report, which was denied by his party, Bishara will submit his resignation in a letter through “one of his colleagues.”

However, his party, the National Democratic Assembly, or Balad, denied ”the inexact and untrue reports.”

Bishara left Israel two weeks ago to attend meetings and has remained abroad even though he briefly returned to Israel last week to attend a wedding, the report said.

The 50 year old entered the Israeli parliament in 1996 as the head of Balad which was formed following the Oslo accords between the Jewish state and the Palestinians.

He has travelled several times to Syria where he met with President Bashar al-Assad.

© 2007 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)