The Judicial Commission of inquiry into the October 2000
killings, tasked with investigating the killings of thirteen Israeli Arabs in clashes with police that lasted several days, released its report Monday.
It criticized then Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak but determined that his actions do not prevent him from running
again for the positon of Prime Minister.
With regards to then Public Security Minister Shlomo Ben-Ami, the three-man panel determined that he failed in his position and cannot again serve as Public Security Minister.
The report criticised some of the statements by several Arab Knesset members, but did not recommend sanctions taken against them. On his part, Shawki Khatib, chairman of the Israeli Arab Leadership Monitoring Committee, which represents Israel's Arab citizens, rejected the accusations regarding the Arab Knesset members, saying "it was unacceptable to compare between the side that was attacked and those who ordered and carried out the killings."
The report concludes that Ehud Barak was not sufficiently aware of what was going on in the Arab sector, even though there was serious concern during his term in office that widespread rioting might erupt in the Arab sector.
The report holds Barak responsible for failing to convene deliberations on the issue. The charge refers to National Security Council reports that warned about the situation in the Arab sector before the rioting started.
Moreover, the report charges Barak with failing to take sufficient steps to prevent police officials from using deadly force in the first two days of the riots, but the commission withdrew its earlier accusation that Barak wasn't sufficiently emphatic in expressing his opinion on the riots and "didn't do enough to bring about calm" by meeting with Arab leaders.
He is also criticized for "not fulfilling his obligation" as Premier because he did not ask police to prepare a report on incidents in which citizens were killed or seriously injured.
The report did not find evidence that, prior to October 2, 2000, Barak issued an order for the roads to be opened "at all costs," even if it would endanger human life.
The report found that Barak instructed security forces to "demonstrate resolve" in keeping traffic routes open and concluded that "this was not an unreasonable directive."
With regards to Ben-Ami, the panel recommended that he not serve again as Public Security Minister due to his "significant failure" in carrying out his job. According to the report, Ben-Ami failed to prepare the police for the extensive riots in the Arab sector, even though he was aware of the processes that made the events likely.
Ben-Ami also "failed to exhibit sufficient vigilance" with regard to the dangers involving the use of rubber-coated bullets for dispersing demonstrations, and did not make sure the police forces were properly deployed in the areas where the clashed were taking place.
The report did not recommend sanctions against Balad parliament member Azmi Bishara and United Arab List parliament member Abdulmalik Dehamshe. The commission found, however, that they were both responsible, shortly before the riots, for passing on a message "that supported violence as a means to achieve the objectives of the Arab sector," and that they thereby "contributed significantly to inflaming the atmosphere and making the violence more severe."
Moreover, the commission does not recommend any action be taken against Sheikh Raad Salah, the leader of the northern branch of the Islamic Movement and former mayor of Umm al Fahm. However, the committee found that Salah, who was arrested earlier this year and is facing charges, not related to the riots, of channeling funds to Hamas-affiliated groups, "significantly contributed to inflaming the atmosphere and to the violent outburst” in the Arab sector.
The report said that in the two years prior to the violent events he was responsible for "relaying recurring messages encouraging the use of violence and the threat of violence as a means for achieving the goals of the Arab sector in the state of Israel."
He held mass gatherings and "used fiery propaganda methods to create an inflamed public atmosphere around the sensitive subject of the Al Aqsa Mosque."
In his statements, the report added, Salah conveyed "messages that negated the legitimacy of the existence of the state of Israel, and presented the state as an enemy."
The panel found that Yehuda Wilk, who served as police commissioner at the time of the clashes, exhibited a "fundamental failure in his role", and was responsible for "breaching" the trust the political echelon placed in him.
As a result, the report recommends that Wilk not be allowed to serve again in a top security position. (Albawaba.com)
© 2003 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
