A questionable apology
The sincerity of Ehud Barak's public apology to Israel's Arab community for 13 deaths at the hands of the police in 2000 has come under attack given its openly political nature.
RAMALLAH, West Bank — Former Prime Minister Ehud Barak's public apology for the deaths of 12 Arab citizens of Israel and one West Bank Palestinian during protests in 2000 at the start of the second intifada may have served its political objective—allowing his party entering an alliance—but some of the families of those killed and others are not so forgiving. They believe prosecutions are in order.
Barak had apologized on July 23 for the deaths, which occurred under his watch as prime minister. “I express my regret and apologize to the families and to the [Arab] community,” Barak said on Kan, the Israeli public broadcaster. He further stated, “There should be no situation in which demonstrators are killed by the fire of the security forces of their own country. I have apologized in the past.”
The demonstrations had been held in solidarity with the Palestinians on the West Bank following a provocative visit to the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound by a delegation led by the then-opposition leader, Ariel Sharon of Likud. Angry Palestinian Jerusalemites outside Al-Aqsa responded by rioting, with clashes between Israeli police and Palestinians escalating and spreading into the West Bank and Gaza.
Barak's public mea culpa preceded the formation on July 25 of the Democratic Camp, an alliance between his new party, Democratic Israel, and the left-wing Meretz ahead of Knesset elections scheduled for Sept. 17. Meretz Knesset member Issawi Freij had initially opposed a merger because of Barak's role in the events of October 2000, making his apology a prerequisite for forging an alliance.
