The commission of inquiry into the Beirut refugee camps massacre held its final session today. The panel, meeting behind closed doors, heard attorneys for six of the nine witnesses who had been warned last November that they might be harmed if certain conclusions were drawn on the basis of their original testimony.
Since the warning was issued, six of the nine senior political and military officials either re-appeared before the commission, were represented by legal counsel or submitted written responses to questions posed by fellow witnesses.
Premier Menachem Begin, Foreign Minister Yitzhak Shamir and chief of army intelligence Gen. Yehoshua Saguy did not avail themselves of the opportunity to reappear, examine evidence and question witnesses. Each submitted letters to the commission essentially reaffirming their original testimony without explanation or embellishment.
The commission will now have to sift through 12,000 documents and other evidence collected over the past 21/2 months. There was no indication today when its final report and recommendation will be ready. Since its appointment last October 1, the panel has heard 49 witnesses present testimony on 58 occasions. Only 24 of those occasions were in open session with the media present. The bulk of the testimony presented was closed to the public.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
