Justice Minister Daniel Friedmann recently defended Attorney General Menachem Mazuz’s decision not to reopen an investigation into the behavior of police officers who shot and killed 13 Arab rioters in October 2000. “When they present the story, one might think it was a student protest and they killed 13 of them, but it wasn’t like that,” Friedmann said of the bereaved families’ version of events.
“In October 2000 the earth shook,” he continued. “The riots were unprecedented... The level of violence and aggression against civilians was higher. Various methods of attack were used, including Molotov cocktails, rocks, burning tires, and live fire... Jews were attacked on the roads simply because they were Jews.”
Friedmann said that despite the violence used in the riots, the government had made an honest attempt to investigate the shootings and determine whether or not police had used excessive force. However, he said, the families of the 13 men who were killed refused to cooperate.