Arabs plan strikes, protests in response to Mazuz decision
Following Attorney General Menachem Mazuz's decision to close case of October 2000 riots, Arab sector set to embark on protest marches, strike on Friday
General strike coupled with appeals to international bodies - The Higher Arab Monitoring Committee has decided that these are the proper responses to Attorney General Menachem Mazuz's decision to close the case against the police officers involved in the riots of October 2000, which left 13 Israeli-Arabs dead.
A general Arab sector strike is planned for Friday and will take place alongside protest marches in Israeli-Arab cities and towns. The largest demonstration is expected to take place in Sakhnin.
"We were responsible enough in the last seven years to deal with this case through Israeli legal channels. Unfortunately, the legal institutions pushed us aside and we will (now) seek justice out through international legal bodies," Shawki Khatib, chairman of the Higher Arab Monitoring Committee said in a conversation with Ynet.
Khatib said that Israeli Jews should "ask themselves – if those murdered, the dead, had been Jews, would they not have sought out the guilty (parties)."
During a meeting of the Monitoring Committee, United Arab List-Ta'al Chairman MK Ibrahim Sarsur said: "I don't expect an appeal to international channels (to lead to) someone doing something, or that the International Court of Justice will try someone. By appealing to them, we're trying to prevent the next murder and make the leaders of the State of Israel regain their senses and wake up, because if not, I am afraid that the state of relations between Jews and Arabs, which was in a fragile state to being with, will deteriorate and come to a dead end."
Earlier Monday, President Shimon Peres said that he did not believe that "Mazuz was looking to cover anything up, apparently from a legal perspective there wasn't enough evidence." Peres made the remarks during a tour of Nazareth and Nazareth Illit.
"In a democratic country, there is a judicial, legislative and executive branch. I am not in the legislative branch and I don't need to rate it. That being said, I don't think (Mazuz) was trying to cover anything up," Peres added.
He said he was aware of the anger within the Arab sector following the controversial decision.
