The Justice Ministry announced today that State Attorney Yona Altman will head a special investigation into the killing of two young Arab bus hijackers by Israeli security forces April 13. He will be aided by a team of military and civilian prosecutors and regular and military police.
The hijackers, taken alive when Israeli troops stormed the bus to free its passengers, were later bludgeoned to death according to the report of a special committee of inquiry headed by Maj. Gen. (res.) Meir Zorea. “Members of the security forces” have been implicated in the killings. The investigation will try to determine what charges should be pressed against which individuals.
Two officers not directly implicated have been re-primanded by their superiors for negligence in preventing the killings. They are Maj. Gen. Moshe Bar Kochba, commander of the southern region where the incident occurred and an officer of the Shin Bet (secret service) whose identity is secret under the law.
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