Acting Prime Minister Ehud Olmert will meet with members of the Higher Arab Follow-Up Committee on Sunday to discuss the violent Arab riots of October, 2000, in which 13 Arab men were shot and killed while attacking police. The meeting will include members of the extremist Islamic Movement and family members of those killed during the riots.
MK Mohammed Barakeh, head of the Hadash party, organized a petition calling on Olmert to continue investigating the officers involved in shooting Arab rioters despite the fact that Attorney General Menachem Mazuz recommended closing the investigation. Barakeh said Olmert had agreed to the meeting in order to “clear his conscience before leaving office,” but expressed satisfaction, saying, “A statement from him will be important.”