Arab leaders demand government reopen probe into October 2000 deaths

By JPOST.COM STAFF
Arab leaders demanded on Saturday that the government reopen the investigation into the deaths of 13 people at the hands of police during the October 2000 riots, this time with the involvement of objective, international elements. At a rally in Sakhnin marking the eighth anniversary of the incidents, Arab Monitoring Committee head Shawki Khatib said Arabs had "no faith" in the justice system. Next week, he said, Arab leaders would present the Prime Minister's Office and the President with a petition signed by some 250,000 people, calling for the establishment of a neutral, independent commission to probe the deaths. Hundreds participated in Saturday's rally, whose speakers decried Attorney-General Menachem Mazuz's decision earlier this year to not indict police officers involved in the riots due to 'insufficient evidence.' "We will continue to hunt the criminals" responsible for the Arab citizens' deaths, Khatib told the crowd.