PM Olmert – admits to discrimination
Photo: Gil Yohanan
Olmert: Arabs discriminated against for years
Prime minister rejects Arab demands to reconsider decision not to indict Israeli officials involved in October 2000 riots; however, against backdrop of Akko Riots, PM says discrimination against Arabs must end
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said Sunday that Arab Israelis have been discriminated against for years, while dismissing Arab calls to bring officials involved in the October Riots to trial.
"We walked out of the meeting with nothing. We demand truth and justice," said Knesset Member Jamal Zahalka. "After all doors have been closed to us, there is no option left for us but to demand an international inquiry."
"I will not reconsider the attorney general's decisions not to indict those involved in the October 2000 riots, which left 13 Arab Israelis dead," Olmert said, after meeting Arab leaders.
Akko Riots
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Representatives of the families of those killed in the riots were also invited to the meeting, but decided not to attend, predicting it will amount to nothing.
'This seems improper'
However, during the meeting in his Jerusalem office, the prime minister admitted that "there is no doubt that for many years the Arab population was discriminated against, for many and deliberate reasons.""This seems improper to me," Olmert said, adding that he committed himself to changing the situation.
"Indeed, during my term in office I attempted to identify a path that would open new dialogue, and many actions were undertaken in order to boost the ties between the population groups," he said.
Olmert was presented with a petition signed by about 250,000 Israelis calling for cancelling Attorney General Mazuz's decision. However, the prime minister did not change his position.
"I have no power or intention to change or appeal the attorney general's decision," he said. "The October Riots were an event of historical significance in relations between Arabs and Jews in the country…I think the people of Israel share in the pain of the Arab families who lost their loves ones. "
During the meeting, Olmert confronted the Islamic Movement's Kamal Khatib, blaming its northern branch for attempting to fan the flames of hatred and destroy coexistence. Khatib responded by saying that the movement "acts in the framework of the State of Israel and adheres to its laws."
