The Ohr Committee resumed its deliberations and hearings today, investigating the Israeli-Arab riots of last October in which 13 Arabs were killed in clashes with the police. The hearings were stopped two months ago after several incidents of Arab violence during the sessions. A glass partition now separates the witnesses from the audience, which in any event will now be comprised of no more than one member of each Arab family. Other family members will be able to view the proceedings by video in a separate hall.
Arutz-7\'s Effie Meir reports on today\'s proceedings:
\"Policeman Ilan Haroush testified about the tense, dangerous atmosphere in which he and his colleagues worked: \'There were rocks, burning tires, heads covered with stockings, slingshots - and against all this, we were only three policemen…\' The Arabs who came to view the proceedings staged a near-violent sit-in, complaining that one of their number was not allowed in. A Druze policeman who testified provided new information about the dangers faced by the policemen in a battle near Karmiel: \'Some type of pistol shots were fired at us from within a large Arab mob\' - but the judges passed over this point, choosing to ask instead about how the officers responded and exactly towards which alleyway, etc.
\"Outside the hall, university students demonstrated against the hearings themselves. One of them, law student Yitzchak Baumann, explained, \'We think that this committee will not be able to get to the truth, for several reasons. For one thing, it is not authorized to investigate the background of the riots, such as who incited them and who organized them… In addition, the Arabs who testify do not undergo any sort of cross-examination, as in any other normal court proceeding; they come and cry about what happened, but no one asks them why they were there, why they threw rocks, who incited them…\"
Arutz-7\'s Effie Meir reports on today\'s proceedings:
\"Policeman Ilan Haroush testified about the tense, dangerous atmosphere in which he and his colleagues worked: \'There were rocks, burning tires, heads covered with stockings, slingshots - and against all this, we were only three policemen…\' The Arabs who came to view the proceedings staged a near-violent sit-in, complaining that one of their number was not allowed in. A Druze policeman who testified provided new information about the dangers faced by the policemen in a battle near Karmiel: \'Some type of pistol shots were fired at us from within a large Arab mob\' - but the judges passed over this point, choosing to ask instead about how the officers responded and exactly towards which alleyway, etc.
\"Outside the hall, university students demonstrated against the hearings themselves. One of them, law student Yitzchak Baumann, explained, \'We think that this committee will not be able to get to the truth, for several reasons. For one thing, it is not authorized to investigate the background of the riots, such as who incited them and who organized them… In addition, the Arabs who testify do not undergo any sort of cross-examination, as in any other normal court proceeding; they come and cry about what happened, but no one asks them why they were there, why they threw rocks, who incited them…\"