Dozens of Arab residents of Nazareth protested on Monday as President Shimon Peres visited the city.  Protestors called Peres a “terrorist” and “war criminal.”  Local politician Ahmed Zuabi held a poster comparing Israel’s closure of Gaza crossings to the Nazi genocide.  A local Balad party politician called Israel a “terrorist state.”

Protestors explained that they had a litany of complaints against Peres, from his presence in the government during the Second Lebanon War and “the Kfar Kana massacre,” to his support for the closure of crossings between Gaza and the western Negev.

Protestors also slammed the state for the deaths of 13 Arab rioters in 2000, saying, “the IDF are criminals who murdered 13 young Arabs.” The demonstrations follow an opinion by Attorney-General Menahem Mazuz that there is not enough evidence to convict security personnel implicated in the deaths.