Quotes of the Day

Last Sunday on a visit to Nazareth I met many Arab friends, some of whom are active politically. Almost all expressed concern about the recommendations of the special investigative commission headed by Judge Theodore Or. The commission, whose findings were published this week, was set up to investigate why 13 Israeli Arabs were shot dead in clashes with Israeli police in October 2000.

Some days before the killings Ariel Sharon had made his now infamous visit to the el-Aqsa yards in Jerusalem which sparked the intifadeh. The Israeli government reaction to the Palestinian uprising prompted dozens of Israeli Arabs to take to the streets in protest over its aggressive nature. The 13 shot dead by police were among these protesters.

But instead of reconciliation, the Or Commission's findings are likely only to increase tension. Or criticizes the then-Prime Minister Ehud Barak and recommends that his Minister for Internal Security Shlomo Ben Ami never act in that capacity again. Similar recommendations are also made against Yehuda Wilk and Alik Ron, the national police chief and police chief of northern Israel at the time.

In addition, Knesset members Azmi Bishara, Abdul-Malek Dahamshe and the jailed leader of the Islamic Movement, Sheikh Raed Salah, are criticized for inflaming the situation but the report makes no recommendation for any sanctions against them.

Or talks about the need for more effort by all sides — but mainly by the Israeli government — to overcome the existing inequality between Arabs and Jews in Israel. But many in the Arab community are disappointed. They had hoped to see court proceedings against Government officials implicated over the killings. Arab political activists are also angry about the "negative" role played by Bishara, Dahamshe and Sheikh Raed Salah.

Over the next few days and weeks, we can expect to hear a lot of mutual accusations. These won't be the simple result of the Or Commission's problematic recommendations. The real fault lies in the lack of mutual trust between the two sides.

Implementing Or's recommendations for improving Arab-Jewish relations is the key. The government should take some initiatives — not necessarily expensive ones — to improve relations with the one in five of its citizens who are Arabs and begin putting together a strategy to create equality and mutual trust among all Israelis.

• WADIE ABUNASSAR
• Reconciliation report could increase tension, says Wadie Abunassar