Spy probe not binding — Shamir

Press, 14 March 1987, Page 11

Spy probe not binding — Shamir

NZPA-Reuter Tel Aviv The Prime Minister of Israel, Yitzhak Shamir, says the Government will not be obliged to carry out the recommendations of an Israeli inquiry into an embarrassing spy scandal. Israeli leaders launched the inquiry on Thursday to ease tensions over the case of Jonathan Pollard, a former United States Navy intelligence analyst who was jailed for life in Washington last week for passing hundreds of secret documents to Israel.

“We are not obligated by anything, but there’s no doubt the recommendations of this commission will have the most serious moral importance,” said Mr Shamir, who initially opposed the Investigation.

Legal experts say the commission lacks the authority of past judicial inquiries to force witnesses to appear or answer questions. The commission that will investigate the role of Israelis in the affair is made up of a lawyer, Joshua Rotenstreich, aged 76, who is president of the Israel Press Council, and General Zvi Zur, aged 64, a former Army chief-of-staff. Mr Rotenstreich said he agreed to join the commission only after the Government promised the co-operation of all Israelis involved. A former Chief Justice, Moshe Landau, earlier spurned the job, saying an investigative commission would be powerless.