Last update - 00:00 27/10/2006
PID: Cops did not collect guns used during Oct. 2000 riots
By Yoav Stern, Haaretz Correspondent
Investigators of the shooting at the Umm al-Fahm riot in October 2000 failed to collect all the firearms deployed during the demonstration.
This meant there was no chance of identifying the officer who shot and killed Mohamed Jabarin.
The Police Investigation Department (PID) at the Justice Ministry says its investigators did not collect all the firearms used in the riot because some of the firearm registration records had been destroyed.
Due to the time that has elapsed since then, it would be impossible to find those registrations today, although the names of the policemen who operated in Umm al-Fahm at the time are known, PID says.
The Adalah organization, the Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel, last week released a report on the failure of the police investigation into the October 2000 shootings. Adalah officials say the PID did not investigate thoroughly and that only one policeman had been questioned.
"It is inconceivable that in a killing investigation only one man is questioned," Adalah director general, attorney Hassan Jabarin, said Thursday.
"Had PID investigated the shooting close to the time it took place and after the Or Commission completed its work, they may have found new evidence leading to those responsible," he said.
The bloody events, during which 13 Arab civilians and one Jewish civilian were killed, erupted on Sunday, October 1, 2000, a few days after MK Ariel Sharon visited the Temple Mount area.
After a mass prayer session at Umm al-Fahm, hundreds of angry youngsters thronged to the junction at the town's entrance, throwing stones and cars on Highway 65.
A unit of three policemen, surrounded by the rioting youngsters, reported that their lives and the lives of civilians were in danger.
Border Police northern commander Bentzi Sau was called to take charge and some 70 policemen went to the area.
Sau divided the force into three. One force was sent toward the junction. The Arabs started throwing stones, rocks, irons and burning tires at the policemen, who fired rubber-coated and live bullets.
Two youngsters were killed - Ahmad Jabarin, 18, of Muawiyah, and Mohamed Jabarin, 23, of Umm al-Fahm. Several dozen youngsters were injured.
Ahmed Jabarin was hit by a rubber-coated bullet in the eye. It is not possible for ballistics tests to match rubber-coated bullets to a specific gun.
Since several policemen fired rubber-coated bullets, the Or Commission and PID stated there was no way of finding the one who shot Ahmad. PID closed the case claiming the perpetrator was unknown.
Adalah blasted this move, arguing that "PID violated the Or Commission's demand to probe the incident.
By so doing, it violated its basic and statutory duty to investigate illegal acts performed by policemen."
Mohamed Jabarin was killed by a live bullet. The bullet was extracted in the autopsy but the gun it was fired from was not found.
PID tested the shell and still has it. The case was closed, also on the pretext of an unknown perpetrator.
PID says it cannot obtain sufficient evidence against policemen involved in the killings.
"One of the most important inquiry tools is the surprise element. Today, all those involved know what each one said at the Or Commission. No investigation trick could crack these cases," PID sources told Haaretz this week.
PID officials say the Or Commission had all the PID's facilities at its disposal and that PID's most senior investigators conducted the inquiries.
"How can we find something new after the Or Commission already probed the affair?" a PID source said.
Adalah said PID should have taken measures against Sau as well. The Or Commission had ruled that Sau not be promoted for four years because he acted contrary to police policy and did not order his forces to withdraw, although there was no justification for their presence.
On Wednesday this week, the High Court of Justice voided Sau's recent appointment as chief of staff for Public Security Minister Avi Dichter because the promotion was contrary to the Or Commission's recommendation.