Israeli MK Benjamin Ben-Eliezer (Labor) said that he and Netanyahu offered Hosni Mubarak political asylum several months ago

Israeli MK Benjamin Ben-Eliezer (Labor) told Army Radio on Wednesday that he and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu offered former Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak political asylum several months ago, Haaretz reported.

Ben-Eliezer's statement came on the same day that Mubarak was transported from Sharm el-Sheikh to Cairo to stand trial for conspiring to kill protesters during demonstrations that led to his ouster earlier this year.

"I met [Mubarak] in Sharm el-Sheikh and I told him that it was a short distance and that it might be a good chance to heal himself," Ben-Eliezer told Army Radio. "I am convinced that the Israel government would have accepted him but he declined [the offer] because he was a patriot."