Former Public Security Minister Shlomo Ben-Ami is testifying this morning at the Ohr Commission, which is investigating the riots of 13 months ago in which 13 Israeli-Arabs were killed. One of the first things he was asked by the judges was whether the fact that he doubled as Foreign Minister in the Barak Government did not harm his ability to serve efficiently as Police Minister. \"On the contrary,\" Ben-Ami responded, \"being Foreign Minister helped me perform better my duties as Public Security Minister.\"
Ben-Ami also said that the police did not inform him of the Arab community\'s decision to organize a wave of protests after Ariel Sharon visited the Temple Mount. He added that the policy that always guided him was restraint and dialogue in order to tone down tensions between the police and the Israeli-Arabs. The mother of one of the 13 was removed from the courtroom when she began screaming, while outside the courtroom Arabs were demonstrating and accusing the police of murder.
It will be recalled that the Arabs began rioting throughout the Galilee immediately after the breakout of violence in Judea and Samaria; mobs of hundreds of Arabs in many locations pulled motorists out of their cars and beat them, barraged police with rocks and slingshots, and closed off critical highways - including the Wadi Ara highway, the main artery between central Israel and the Tiberias-Jezre\'el Valley area.
Ben-Ami also said that the police did not inform him of the Arab community\'s decision to organize a wave of protests after Ariel Sharon visited the Temple Mount. He added that the policy that always guided him was restraint and dialogue in order to tone down tensions between the police and the Israeli-Arabs. The mother of one of the 13 was removed from the courtroom when she began screaming, while outside the courtroom Arabs were demonstrating and accusing the police of murder.
It will be recalled that the Arabs began rioting throughout the Galilee immediately after the breakout of violence in Judea and Samaria; mobs of hundreds of Arabs in many locations pulled motorists out of their cars and beat them, barraged police with rocks and slingshots, and closed off critical highways - including the Wadi Ara highway, the main artery between central Israel and the Tiberias-Jezre\'el Valley area.