Barak tries to placate Arabs on eve of election
Prime Minister Ehud Barak has made a last ditch appeal to Israeli Arabs in an effort to win their votes in the country's general election tomorrow.
Barak pledged to continue in the peace negotiations with the Palestinians and to make efforts to raise the socioeconomic level of the Arab Israeli community.
Leaders of the community, however, said they expected 90% of Arab Israelis would not vote in the election out of anger at Barak and opposition to the Likud's hardline candidate, Ariel Sharon. Barak is 20% behind his rival in opinion polls.
Arab Israelis, who make up about 12% of the country's electorate and voted overwhelmingly for Barak in 1999, say he is at fault for the killings in October of 13 Arab Israelis in clashes with police.
The violence erupted as part of Arab Israeli riots to express solidarity with the Palestinians. In an apparent act of desperation, Barak admitted fault for the deaths of the Arab Israelis.
He said: "As the prime minister, I take responsibility for those events (deaths of the 13) and request once again to express my sorrow for their deaths."
Police will be out in large numbers in Israeli Arab towns and villages for the election to prevent possible violence or voter intimidation.
Police fear militant elements in certain Israeli Arab communities may attempt to block roads, stone cars or try to keep voters away from the polls, said police Commissioner Shlomo Aharonishki.
Israeli Arab leaders have called for a boycott of the poll. Israeli Arabs as a group strongly oppose Sharon, the election frontrunner, and many see him as opposed to the peace process.
In response to protests from Israeli Arabs, the Israeli government set up a commission to investigate the October riots.
