ISRAELI-ARAB POLITICIANS DECLARE DAY OF MOURNING,

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 TEL AVIV 001772

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/23/2014
TAGS: PGOV PTER IS GAZA DISENGAGEMENT ISRAELI PALESTINIAN AFFAIRS ISRAELI SOCIETY
SUBJECT: ISRAELI-ARAB POLITICIANS DECLARE DAY OF MOURNING,
ORGANIZE DEMONSTRATION AGAINST YASIN ASSASSINATION


Classified By: Political Counselor Norm Olsen for reason 1.4 (b) and (d
).


1. (C) Summary. Israeli-Arab politicians rallied some 2,000
demonstrators in Nazareth March 23 to protest the GOI's
assassination of Hamas leader Yasin. The Higher Arab
Monitoring Committee, in conjunction with the more militant
Islamic Movement, also declared March 23 a day of mourning.
A Likud MK reportedly has asked the attorney general to bar
the Nazareth event and to launch a criminal investigation
against Arab MKs who express support for Yasin. Embassy
contacts believe that Israeli Arabs, while sincerely
disturbed about Yasin's assassination, are being stirred up
by Israeli-Arab leaders. Police reportedly are concerned
about spiraling Israeli-Arab violence in the days leading up
to the March 30 "Land Day," the annual protest against land
expropriation and general discriminatory treatment of Israeli
Arabs. End summary.

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Israeli-Arab Politicians Unite to Protest Yasin Killing
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2. (C) Israeli-Arab politicians and Knesset members have
uniformly condemned the GOI's assassination of Hamas leader
Shaykh Ahmad Yasin and have cooperated in organizing a
demonstration during the afternoon of March 23 in the largest
Israeli-Arab city, Nazareth. Early media reports estimate
demonstration numbers around 2,000 persons. Israel Radio
reported that someone pushing a wheelchair bearing a picture
of Yasin led the demonstration. The Higher Arab Monitoring
Committee (the Committee),which consists of Israeli-Arab
political representatives, Knesset members, and Arab
municipality heads, reportedly agreed to work with the more
militant Islamic Movement, centered in Umm al-Fahm, to
organize the demonstration in Nazareth. According to Jafar
Farah, director of the Mossawa Advocacy Center for Arab
Citizens in Israel, Israeli-Arab politicians were pushing for
the demonstration, something that many in the Israeli-Arab
community, he believes, may not have strongly supported.
Farah expressed concern that it may not be wise for Israeli
Arabs to connect themselves with Hamas. He added, however,
that there certainly was "general frustration in the
Israeli-Arab street." Farah worried that Umm al-Fahm leaders
could allow things to get out of control at the
demonstration. "They don't have much to lose," Farah said of
the Umm al-Fahm leaders, "since their main leaders are in
prison." (Note: Farah was referring to jailed Islamic
Movement Northern Branch leader Sheikh Ra'ad Salah and former
mayor of Umm al-Fahm Suleiman Aghbaria.)


3. (C) Yair Ettinger, Ha'aretz reporter on Israeli-Arab
issues, told poloff on March 23 that the rhetoric among
Israeli-Arab politicians has grown more "militant" in
response to Yasin's assassination. MKs Talab el-Sana and
Ahmed Tibi both said publicly that the GOI's actions against
Yasin represented "insanity." MK el-Sana reportedly canceled
a March 22 meeting he had scheduled with PM Sharon. Ettinger
pointed out that all the Arab parties in the Knesset have
united around the Yasin issue. He stressed, however, that
there has always been a gap between the more moderate
Israeli-Arab community and its political leaders. Yair
questioned whether Israeli Arabs felt comfortable "standing
side-by-side with Gaza to protest Yasin's death."

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Likud MK Angered over Israeli-Arab Reaction
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4. (SBU) Right-wing Likud MK Gilad Erdan reportedly
petitioned Attorney General Menachem Mazuz on March 23 to bar
the Nazareth demonstration and has called for a criminal
investigation against the leader of the Committee and the
Arab MKs participating in the demonstration, for expressing
support for Yasin. Ha'aretz reported on March 23 that in a
letter to the AG, Erdan wrote that "the Arabs of Israel
always claim they're second class citizens, and today some of
them are acting as first-class enemies. This phenomenon must
be uprooted." In response, The Mossawa Center reportedly
called on Mazuz to try MKs who incite against Israeli Arabs.

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Land Day Protest
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5. (C) The Committee has also announced a general strike in
the Israeli-Arab community to mark the annual "Land Day" on
March 30. "Land Day" rallies and strikes have been held
annually to commemorate the March 30, 1976 killing of six
Israeli Arabs who were protesting the expropriation of
Arab-owned land in Israel. Ettinger noted that last year's
Land Day rallies did not draw many people, as Land Day
occurred during the U.S. war with Iraq. He predicted a
larger turnout this year. Police reportedly are concerned
that the climate in the Israeli-Arab community is such that
violence could erupt in the days ahead and especially on Land
Day.

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