A special commission investigating the murder of 48 Arabs at Kfar Kassem, an Arab village in Israel, has commended that the Israel Government pay 5,000 pounds compensation to the heirs of every man and woman killed in the affair, plus certain other sums to dependents of the dead and to persons wounded in the shootings. Premier David Ben Gurion has pledged to honor the committee’s recommendations.
The Arabs were returning from the fields the evening of the day the Israeli Army opened the Sinai drive. Unaware of a curfew imposed on the area in their absence, they panicked when suddenly faced by an Israeli military patrol which ordered them to halt. They turned and ran and the soldier, under orders of a lieutenant, opened fire. The officer and several enlisted men are awaiting trial on charges of unjustified firing on the Arab population.
One award recommended by the committee provides for an extra 1,000 pounds to be paid the heirs of a pregnant woman killed in the incident. In addition, each dependent of a victim will receive 350 pounds compensation. The wounded will receive all necessary treatment at government expense plus 300 pounds compensation. The investigating committee, consisted of both Jewish and Arab members.
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