Last update - 00:00 11/02/2008
Prosecutor: AG was right not to indict police for Oct. 2000 deaths
By Yoav Stern, Haaretz Correspondent
Deputy State Prosecutor Shai Nitzan said on Monday that he has no second thoughts about the decision not to indict police for the killing of 13 Israeli Arabs during riots in October 2000>.
Addressing the Knesset Internal Affairs and Environment Committee, Nitzan, who coordinated the investigation into the incidents on behalf of Attorney General Menachem Mazuz, said that "if you want an attorney to say 'indictment is mandatory only because 13 people have been killed,' you should find yourself another state prosecution."
Nitzan said that even though the inquiry was exhaustive, it failed to reach clear-cut evidence. "We can't indict 30 policemen," he said. "When there are 100 police involved we need to find the one who pulled the trigger and that's difficult because sometimes the rifle or the bullet are missing; on some occasions the bullet remained in the body of the deceased, and we couldn't get permission from the families to exhume them."
The Police Investigation Department (PID) representative, Attorney Moshe Sa'adia, told the panel that it is "likely" that police investigators have covered up for their colleagues.
During the heated session, Arab MKs made harsh accusations about the way the PID investigation had been carried out.
The chairman of the Higher Arab Monitoring Committee, Shauki Hatib, accused Nitzan of "legitimizing the murder of Arabs." He also said that "setting up a neutral panel, with the input of international experts, is the only way to guarantee justice."
Committee chairman MK Ophir Pines-Paz made the closing remarks, saying that "the scars have yet to heal, and there are still harsh feelings despite the comprehensive investigation."
"The outcome is very disappointing," he added. "Even if justice has been done, it has certainly yet to be seen, and this may have serious implications on Jewish-Arab coexistence in Israel. I hereby appeal to the leaders of the Arab community: I understand your frustration and distress, but I think you can put your trust in the High Court before you turn to international instances."
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