I did not think of massacre—Minister

Press, 26 November 1982, Page 8

I did not think of massacre—Minister

NZPA Jerusalelfi The Israeli Foreign Minister, Mr Yitzhak Shamir, yesterday denied that a fellow Cabinet member had told him that Falangist militia were “butchering" Palestinians about 18 hours after the killings had started. Mr Shamir told the judicial inquiry into the massacre that he had received a telephone call from the Communications Minister, Mr Mordechai Zipori, about the situation but denied that the words massacre or butchery were used.

Last week Mr Zipori testified to the commission that he had told Mr Shamir that Falangist militia sent into the Sabra and Shatila refugee camps, by Israel were “butchering.”

Yesterday Mr Shamir said that the Hebrew word Mr Zipori used had been “hishtolelot,” which meant frenzied, uncontrolled behaviour but had no connotation of killing.

Evidence on the two Ministers’ conversation is crucial because of the Israeli Government’s assertion that

it had acted swiftly to stop the massacre when it heard that Israel’s Falangist allies were killing Palestinians. The telephone call took place before noon on Friday, September 17 but Israel did not get the Falangists out of the camps until Saturday morning.

Mr Zipori has said that he heard of a massacre from an Israeli journalist, and some military witnesses have told the inquiry that they were

aware of killings by Friday morning.

Mr Shamir also denied Mr Zipori’s evidence that he had asked Mr Shamir to check the massacre reports at a meeting he was holding later that day. Shortly after the telephone call. Mr Shamir met the American envoy. Morris Draper, the Defence Minister. Mr Ariel Sharon, and the heads of Military Intelligence and the Shin Bet security service to review the situation in Muslim west Beirut.

While they were talking, information from Beirut, was constantly arriving and it did not indicate a massacre was taking place, he said. “During the meeting I forgot about my talk with Mr Zipori ..: I was not worried because (I thought) those who attended the meeting knew exactly what was going on," Mr Shamir said. “I did not believe that Zipori knew more than those who were at the meeting.”

The Chief Justice of Israel,

Mr Yitzhak Kahan. head of the commission, asked Mr Shamir about the varying meanings of the word "hishtolelot” and whether it had not raised any fears in his mind at the time.

“The truth to say is that I did not think in those terms. I did not think of massacre. I thought only in the direction of fighting against terrorists (Palestinian guerrillas)," he answered.

According to Israeli Intelligence estimates, between 700 and 800 Palestinians were killed in Sabra and Shatila.

Mr Shamir said that, like other Ministers, he did not know that Mr Sharon had sent Falangists into the camps until Thursday night, several hours after the action began.

As Israel had a close relationship with the Falangists, he was under the impression that they were an organised army, and had welcomed the news that they had joined in the fighting against Palestinian guerrillas, he said.