Israel’s agreement to allow representatives of the International Red Cross to visit Palestinian prisoners captured in Lebanon won an approving comment from a Reagan Administration emissary here yesterday. “A wise decision,” said M. Peter McPherson, the President’s personal representative for disaster aid to Lebanon, after he was informed of the gesture by Foreign Minister Yitzhak Shamir.
McPherson, Administrator for the Agency for International Development (AID), agreed with Shamir that it was “a humanitarian act.” Shamir explained that Israel does not consider it a duty under International law to allow the Red Cross access to the prisoners who are suspected members of the Palestine Liberation Organization.
Their official status is detainees, not prisoners of war, since Israeli refuses to recognize the PLO as anything but a terrorist organization and as such It cannot possess a legitimate army.
ISRAEL HOLDS 8,000-9,000 SUSPECTS
According to unofficial estimates, Israel now holds 8,000-9,000 PLO suspects. Most are confined to a special detention camp in south Lebanon. Officials here have not indicated what Israel intends to do with them. Only a small number of those who were directly involved in terrorist acts could be brought to trial. If convicted, they would only increase Israel’s prisoner population which is already swollen to the bursting point.
Chief of Staff Gen. Rafael Eitan has indicated that if and when a new government is set up in Lebanon, most of the captives will be turned over to the Lebanese authorities. Should Israel’s Christian Phalangist allies control a new Lebanese government, the prisoners could expect to fare much worse than they would under detention by Israel. The Phalangists have old scores to settle with the PLO.
McPherson, who viewed the extensive damage in the Lebanese towns of Tyre, Sidon and Damour, told Shamir that the U.S. has earmarked $65 million in aid. Shamir said Israel, too, was contributing toward reconstruction work in Lebanon.
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.
