By David Lev
Thousands of Arabs protested on Monday on the 12th anniversary of the “Israeli Arab intifada,” in which Arabs rioting in northern Israel in October 2000 faced off against police and security forces. Twelve Arabs were killed during those riots.
The 2000 riots, in Nazareth and other largely Arab towns in northern Israel, were held in sympathy with the riots being conducted by Palestinian Authority Arabs, who went on a relentless terror campaign against Israeli Jews. The riots in northern Israel amounted to an insurrection by Arabs, with calls for the end of the Jewish state and Palestinian flags flying, and Israel, fearing a new front in the Arab uprising, quickly quashed the riots.
Protesters on Monday decried the “murder” of the rioters in 2000, claiming that the State was trying to damage Arab interests, and did not care if it murdered innocent Arabs. MK Ahmed Tibi (Ra'am-Ta'al), a former close associate of arch-terrorists Yasser Arafat, said that “we will not forget, nor will we forgive, the murders. Those who murdered our people must be tried and punished. A country that murders its citizens and rewards their killers is a murderous, racist country,” Tibi said.
MK Taleb a-Sana said that “if the government does not act justly, we will make justice. If it does not punish the guilty, we will punish them. He will not forgive, nor will we forget, and we will (the word 'not' is missing here) allow the blood of any Arab to be cheapened,” he added.
______________________________
Syria 'reaffirms' Commitment to Restore Golan Heights
Source: YNet NEWS
Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem on Monday reaffirmed his country's commitment to restore the Golan Heights and called on the international community to compel Israel to join the Non-Proliferation Treaty.
Addressing the UN General Assembly's annual ministerial meeting, al-Moallem accused some UN Security Council members of supporting "terrorism" by Syrian rebels.
He said that calls for President Bashar Assad to step down were "blatant interference in the domestic affairs of Syria, and the unity of its people and its sovereignty."
The Syrian foreign minister said that what is going on in Syria must not "shift the focus" from what he claimed were the real issues – the Palestinians and the Golan Heights.
He declared that Syria reaffirms its commitment to its "natural right" to restore the Syrian Golan Heights adding that Damascus rejects Israel's attempts to change the region's natural landscape while violating Security Council resolutions.
Al-Moallem further added that Syria is renewing its call for the international community to recognize a Palestinian state and blamed Israel for the failure of efforts to bring about a "just and comprehensive" peace in the Middle East.
He noted that Israel's settlement policy violates understandings adopted as a basis for peace between Israel and the Palestinians.
Addressing the nuclear issue, the Syrian diplomat called on the international community to "free the Middle East of WMDs." He called on the world to compel Israel, "the only nuclear power in the region," to join the NPT and allow IAEA inspection of its nuclear facilities.
He claimed that sanctions against Syria serve only Israel's "expansionist interests."
