JERUSALEM – January 27, 2008 – The Association for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI) expresses dismay and deep disappointment at Attorney-General Meni Mazuz’s support for the closure of the investigation against police officers involved in the killing of 12 Arab citizens and one Gaza resident during riots in October 2000. Mazuz’s decision only augments the deep distrust between the Israeli police force and Israel’s Arab citizens and the feeling that many members of Israel’s police force view Arab citizens as enemies and a threat to the State of Israel.
As ACRI stated in 2005 upon the publication of the Police Investigations Department’s (PID) report on the killings and the police’s response in October 2000, the report judges the police reaction based on criteria used for responding to an enemy entity. ACRI argues that the perception of Arab citizens as enemies is inadmissible, and this in itself should have been for enough for Mazuz to publish personal findings against those responsible for the PID investigation and to order a comprehensive reform of the PID. Moreover, the PID report’s conclusions also constitute an unjustified and unchecked backing of the police’s use of force.
Furthermore, the closure of the investigation highlights an alarming trend: ACRI has found that only 3% of the complaints received by the PID in 2005-2006 resulted in criminal prosecution. In addition, despite the grave conclusions of an independent investigation committee (the Orr Commission), not one police officer was brought to justice in a conflict in which 13 individuals were killed. ACRI believes the PID’s neglect and impotence in this case and in general are highly reprehensible, especially given that the fact that all of the individuals killed in the October 2000 riots were Arab, a group that suffers from systematic discrimination in Israel. This alarming trend suggests that it’s acceptable and even lawful for the police not to be held responsible for killing Arab citizens.
