Israeli Arabs decry inquiry report

In an already poisoned atmosphere, the findings of an official Israeli inquiry into the death of 13 Arab citizens at the hands of Israeli police in 2000 seems to have no chance of bringing about catharsis, or even much relief.

Arab reactions to the findings of the three-member commission yesterday were generally negative, stressing that it did not find any of the police criminally culpable or make operative recommendations against the Israeli prime minister at the time, Ehud Barak.

The deaths of the 13 Arabs deepened wounds and distrust between the Jewish majority and the Arab minority, which accounts for 19 percent of Israel's population. The killings are considered by Israel's Arab citizens clear proof that their lives are cheap and they are seen as enemies, while Jewish memories tend to focus on the images of Arab citizens throwing stones and blocking roads, similar to Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

"The commission has displayed callousness to our wounds and our grief," says Hassan Assiyleh, whose son Asil was among those killed. "This is a tunnel without light."

But the reaction of the mainstream Arab leadership, perhaps surprisingly, also contained a whiff of praise for the probe's detailing decades of government neglect of Arab grievances, listing that as the backdrop to the eruption of violence.

"We commend their dealing with the issue of discrimination and hope there will be implementation," says Shawki Khatib, who heads a committee composed of Arab leaders.

An official summary of the report says that "the events of October [2000] were the result of deep causes that created an explosive situation. The state and the government throughout the generations failed to deal in a meaningful way with the difficult problems. Policy was characterized by neglect and discrimination."

It took issue with the minister of internal security, Shlomo Ben Ami, for "being passive" about police conduct and recommended that he never be allowed to hold the post again. Similar recommendations were made against two senior police commanders. It also sharply criticized several Arab leaders whom it said had heated the atmosphere in advance of the violence.

Shuli Dichter, director of Sikkuy, a nongovernmental organization promoting equality, says the commission "is providing good directions for the Israeli public to take." Mr. Dichter, who testified before the commission, praised it for stressing a need to immediately close budgetary gaps between Jews and Arabs and afford Arabs chances to get building permits.

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