The killing of 13 Arab citizens and 1 Jewish Israeli during protests prompted a formal state commission of inquiry into Israeli police conduct.
Key Facts
- Arab demonstrators killed
- 13
- Israeli Jews killed
- 1
- Month of events
- October 2000
- Investigating body
- Or Commission
- Primary location
- Arab villages in northern Israel
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
In October 2000, amid the wider Israeli-Palestinian tensions and the outbreak of the Second Intifada, Israeli Arab communities in northern Israel began staging protests that quickly grew in size and intensity, reflecting longstanding grievances over civil rights, discrimination, and solidarity with Palestinians in the occupied territories.
A series of protests in Arab villages across northern Israel escalated into rioting by Israeli Arabs, which in turn triggered counter-rioting by Israeli Jews. Clashes with the Israel Police resulted in the deaths of 13 Arab demonstrators and 1 Israeli Jew over the course of October 2000.
The Israeli government established the Or Commission to investigate the police response to the unrest. The episode deepened divisions between Jewish and Arab citizens of Israel and became a defining moment in the political memory of the Arab community inside Israel, who refer to it as the 'October ignition'.
Political Outcome
13 Arab demonstrators and 1 Israeli Jew killed; Or Commission established to investigate police conduct