The commission of inquiry into the Beirut massacre has given Premier Menachem Begin, Defense Minister Ariel Sharon and seven other top officials an additional week to decide if they want to reappear before the panel to present further testimony and examine witnesses and evidence or exercise other rights following the panel’s warning that they “may be harmed” by the commission’s findings. The nine officials had originally been given 15 days to decide, and the deadline for it had been tomorrow. The new deadline is December 16.
The extension came, according to Israel Defense Force Radio, after several of the nine said that more time was required as their attorneys were still studying the mass of material made available to them by the commission.
Another reason for the extension, according to the IDF Radio, was that several of the officials were abroad on business. This particularly applied to Sharon who is currently visiting the United States and Honduras, and to Maj. Gen. Amos Yaron, the divisional commander of the IDF in Beirut, who was on a United Jewish Appeal speaking tour when the commission issued its warning two weeks ago.
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