Israel May Pay Damages to the 32 Persons Wounded by Protter

A Foreign Ministry spokesman said today that Israel may pay voluntary damages to the 32 persons who were wounded by David Protter, a mentally deranged employe of the Israeli Consulate General in Johannesburg, South Africa, last Monday. The spokesman said the matter was under discussion between Israeli and South African authorities but that no decision had been reached yet on whether Israel would make the payments or in what amounts.

Well placed sources here said, however, that the government was expected to be “forthcoming” with ex-gratia payments to the injured parties and would be influenced by the humanitarian and political aspects of the tragedy rather than by narrow legal considerations, There were reports in South Africa that some of the victims planned to sue the Israeli government for damages.

Protter, a 24-year-old South African Jew who was discharged from the Israeli army three years ago for psychiatric reasons, seized the Consulate offices where he had been employed as an assistant security guard and held more than 20 fellow employes and their families hostage for 19 hours. At one point he fired a submachine gun into the streets, felling 32 persons. He also murdered the Consulate’s security officer, Giora Raviv.

Legal experts here said damage suits filed against the Israeli government might not succeed because it could be claimed that Protter was not acting in line of duty and Israel was, therefore, not responsible for his actions. Officials here noted with evident satisfaction that Jerusalem’s relations with the South African government in Pretoria had not been adversely affected by the tragic affair and that the discussions of it were proceeding without rancor.

ALLON PRAISES UNNA, CONSULATE STAFF

Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Yigal Allon has cabled the Israeli Ambassador in South Africa, Yitzhak Unna, his “deepest appreciation for the fitting way in which you fulfilled your duty as Israeli Ambassador in that difficult and testing time,” Allon asked Unna to convey a similar message of appreciation to “the devoted staff members of our representations” in South Africa. Unna was instrumental in getting Protter to release his hostages and surrender to the police.

Premier Yitzhak Rabin’s special advisor, Gen. (Res.) Rehavam Zeevi who was sent to South Africa to investigate the incident, reported his findings to the Cabinet yesterday. He related how Protter came to be hired by the Consulate and how he managed to seize the offices. The Cabinet met as a ministerial security committee and no details of Zeevi’s report were made public beyond a statement that Rabin had summed up the lessons learned and that they would be applied.

Israeli officials reported that an arms cache found in the Consulate consisted of licensed weapons plus what Protter had managed to smuggle into the premises. As a security guard whose duty was to search visitors to the Consulate, Protter was permitted to carry weapons.