jerusalem | Five years after the October 2000 riots that brought Jewish-Arab relations to an unprecedented low, Israel’s Arab population is again on the offensive.
The reason for the renewed tension is the decision of the Justice Ministry’s Police Investigations Department not to press charges against any police officers in the killing of 12 Israeli Arabs and a Palestinian during the riots, which broke out in sympathy with the nascent intifada.
The reason: “Lack of incriminating evidence against the suspects.”
The Arab population reacted with rage, saying it showed that the state treats them as second-class citizens. Many Jews agreed.
“A situation in which 13 people were killed and no one is indicted is unacceptable,” said Shimon Shamir, a member of the inquiry commission established by the government, which investigated the riots and issued a 2003 report that found flaws in the way the police reacted.
The commission instructed the investigations department to determine whether “there is reason to take criminal or other procedures” against policemen for the rioters’ deaths. However, the investigations department found that there wasn’t enough evidence to support criminal charges against specific police officers.
A follow-up committee, the informal leadership of Israel’s Arabs, agreed this week on a series of measures intended to reverse the department’s decision and lead to the indictment of police officers. The measures include demonstrations, a hunger strike by Arab leaders in front of the prime minister’s office and appeals to the High Court of Justice to compel the state to press charges.
The Arab leadership is threatening to bring the issue before overseas legal authorities.
“This is legally possible,” said Marwan Dalal, a senior attorney at Adalah, the Legal Center for Minority Rights in Israel.
A number of legal systems allow foreigners to be tried in severe cases of human-rights violations, he said.
As an example, Dalal cited the U.S. Alien Torts Act, which he said allows foreigners to press civil lawsuits in U.S. courts against officials involved in human-rights violations.