Ehud Barak’s ‘apology’ for October 2000 killing ‘lacks all value’

A “purported apology” made by former Israeli prime minister Ehud Barak for the October 2000 killings of Palestinian citizens was slammed as lacking “all value” by leading legal rights centre Adalah in a press release yesterday.

Barak, who is running in September’s elections as the head of Israel Democratic Party (Yisrael Demokratit), made the remarks in response to criticism from Meretz MK Esawi Freige.

In early October 2000, Palestinian citizens of Israel staged mass demonstrations in towns and villages to protest the government’s crackdown in the occupied Palestinian territory at the beginning of the Second Intifada.

Suppressing these solidarity protests, Israeli police – including special sniper units – killed 13 unarmed Palestinians (12 citizens of Israel and one resident of the Gaza Strip), and injured hundreds more. Some 660 Palestinian citizens of Israel were arrested.

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Speaking to Israel Public Radio yesterday, Barak said: “I take responsibility for what happened during my tenure as prime minister, including the October 2000 events.”

“There is no place for protesters to be killed by security and police forces of the State of Israel, their state. I express my regret and apology to the families [of those killed] and to the Arab community,” he added.

Responding to Barak’s comments, Adalah described the former Labor premier as “directly responsible for the killing of 13 Arab youths”.

“He ordered Israeli police to deploy deadly means – including snipers – to reopen Highway 65 during the demonstrations, and he remained indifferent to the resultant killing and wounding of hundreds of protestors on 1-2 October 2000,” Adalah continued.

“Barak’s orders also justified the police’s continued use of snipers during the subsequent days of protest”.

Adalah added that “the purported apology” made by Barak “lacks all value so long as no indictments have been filed against the Israeli police officers responsible”. Not a single Israeli officer or official has ever been indicted for the killings.

Relatives of those killed in the October 2000 protests also rejected Barak’s apology.

Abdel Moneim Salah, whose son Walid was killed near Sakhnin, called Barak’s apology “worthless” and a “lame excuse that we will not accept under any circumstances”. Ibrahim Siam, whose son Ahmed was killed, said: “We have no interest in Barak and his political thoughts”. “As far as we’re concerned, he was the one who murdered our children and gave the orders, and he, just like other officers and commanders, belongs behind bars,” he added.

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