BEIRUT: Parliament’s Administrative and Justice Committee decided Monday to revise a number of amnesty draft laws put forward by MPs, and recommended that the government cancel an administrative measure that has “no legal basis.”

One of the amnesty drafts was proposed by Metn MP Sami Gemayel, and MPs will now work to specify who is eligible for amnesty, among those who fled to Israel in the wake of its withdrawal from south Lebanon in May 2000.

“It turned out that it is necessary to distinguish between those who were forced to collaborate with the occupation ... due to security and other reasons, and those who deliberately committed acts punishable by Lebanese law,” said Western Bekaa MP Robert Ghanem, the head of the committee, after chairing its session at Parliament.

“[The representative of the Justice Ministry] ... Hatem Madi was tasked with revising this draft law in coordination with [Metn MP] Sami Gemayel who forwarded it, taking into consideration this distinction,” Ghanem added.

In 2000, 6,500 South Lebanon Army militia members who fought alongside Israel during its occupation of south Lebanon left with their families to Israel and an estimated 2,500 remain there. Parliament recently passed a “law of return” to handle the cases of those who fled in 2000, but the implementing decrees have yet to be issued.

Ghanem said a subcommittee was formed to examine and merge a number of amnesty draft laws forwarded by MPs.

Among the draft laws to be examined is one calling for re-trying, without detaining, anyone who was convicted in absentia before Dec. 31, 2005.

“This draft law is very important since many Lebanese ... have been convicted in absentia ... and are afraid to return to Lebanon and be arrested,” Ghanem added.

The subcommittee is headed by Baalbek-Hermel MP Nawwar Sahli, the rapporteur of the Administration and Justice Committee, with MPs Samir Jisr, Elie Kayrouz, Ghassan Moukheiber, Michel Helou, along with Madi, as members.

“The subcommittee was tasked with re-drafting [the legislative proposals into] one amnesty draft law, which deals with a number of crimes,” said Ghanem.

The committee also urged the government to cancel “telegram 303,” based on which the Judicial Police arrests wanted people.

Ghanem said that the telegram has no “legal basis” and is different from a search and arrest warrant.

The committee has decided to issue a recommendation to the Cabinet to respect the fact that a search and arrest warrant expires one month from its date of issuance.