Knesset, by Vote of 48-42, Rejects Motion by Labor to Set Up a Commission of Inquiry into Massacre O

The Knesset voted 48-42 today to defeat a motion by the opposition Labor Alignment for creation of a state commission to investigate the nature, if any, of Israel’s involvement in the massacre of Palestinian civilians in two west Beirut refugee camps last Friday by Lebanese Christian Phalangists armed and supported by Israel.

The vote represented a substantial political victory for Premier Menachem Begin who strongly opposed an official inquiry on grounds that it would be an admission of Israeli guilt for the blood bath.

But it was achieved against the background of a nation divided as never before over its government’s policies and actions in Beirut, mounting demands by opposition supporters and the press for the resignations of Begin and his Defense Minister, Ariel Sharon, and deep concern among some of Begin’s coalition partners that refusal to conduct an inquiry would further damage Israel’s already tarnished image abroad.

BERMAN, MILSON RESIGN

While Begin managed to keep his restive coalition intact, the decision not to investigate the circumstances of the Beirut tragedy resulted in the resignations to day of Energy Minister Yitzhak Berman of Likud’s Liberal Party faction, and of Prof. Menachem Milson, head of the civil administration on the West Bank, an appointee of Sharon.

Sharon mounted the podium today to defend the government and the military. But he faced prolonged heckling from the opposition benches before he could speak. He admitted that the army had allowed the Phalangists into the Shatila and Sabra refugee camps in west Beirut for the purpose of cleaning out Palestine Liberation Organization terrorists believed hiding there after the main body of the PLO left Beirut last month.

But Sharon strenuously denied Israeli knowledge of the massacre while it was going on last Thursday night and Friday. “We did not know what was happening … We were not there … No Israeli soldiers were implicated,” Sharon said. “We sent Phalangists into the camps to seek out terrorists and save Israeli lives.”

Sharon claimed it was difficult to explain what had happened because “Such horrors belong to another world. I hope that those responsible will be punished, but that is not in our hands,” he said. He stressed that the Phalangists were not part of the Israel army and did not have to report to Israel. They were sent into the camps, he said, only because the Lebanese army refused to act and the only purpose was to save Israeli lives.

Sharon admitted that the Israeli army fired flares throughout the night to illuminate the camp while the Phalangists were in action. But the Israelis thought they were helping only in the search for terrorists, he said. Sharon also insisted that “the Israeli officers and soldiers did not know what was happening” and it was only on Friday evening and Saturday that the fact of a massacre became known.

OPPOSITION CHALLENGES SHARON’S VERSION

But opposition MKs shouted that Sharon’s version was in utter contradiction of accounts given the Israeli press by soldiers on the scene. The soldiers said knowledge of the massacre was learned early Friday morning and reported immediately to higher authorities, but no attempt was made to stop the Phalangists until Friday night and Saturday.

Sharon accused the opposition of demanding an investigation “only because you want to get us (Likud) out, just as I understand the Americans do. “He said: “You want us out because you want our (Knesset) seats. The Americans want us out because they want not only Beirut but also Hebron, Beth El and Ariel (Jewish settlements on the West Bank) and Jerusalem.” He was apparently referring to President Reagan’s proposals for Palestinian autonomy and the future of the West Bank which Israel has categorically rejected.

Labor Party chairman, Shimon Peres, tried to reply but Sharon refused to yield the floor. Later, Peres mounted the podium to denounce Sharon’s charge as a “baseless lie … a total lie … Sharon is again lying .”

Begin’s coalition was reported to have been in serious trouble when the Knesset debate began. The National Religious Party, whose six Knesset seats make it the second largest coalition partner, reportedly threatened to defect unless an official investigation of the Beirut massacre was authorized. A similar threat was made by the two-member Tami faction. But during a one-hour recess, Begin succeeded in mollifying the NRP by promising Interior Minister Yosef Burg that a different “suitable manner to examine the facts” would be proposed within three weeks.

IMPACT OF BERMAN’S RESIGNATION

The resignation of Berman, a former Speaker of the Knesset and a Likud moderate, will not affect coalition strength. But it had a certain moral impact. A lawyer by profession, Berman said he was quitting because only a judicial commission set up under the Commissions of Inquiry Law of 1968 could adequately and credibly bring the facts to light and put Israeli and foreign criticism of the government to rest. He explained that only such a statutory body, headed by a Supreme Court Justice, had the power to subpoena witnesses.

SHARON ACCEPTS MILSON’S RESIGNATION

Milson quit his post today in protest against the government’s refusal to set up a commission of inquiry. His resignation was accepted immediately by Sharon. It was believed in some quarters that he was motivated at least in part by long-standing policy differences with Sharon over the administration of the West Bank and that he had wanted to resign last June but postponed his departure when Israel invaded Lebanon.

Milson, a Hebrew University professor on leave, was a controversial figure. His appointment to head the new civil regime set up in the territory by Sharon touched off widespread protest demonstrations by Palestinian Arabs who saw the move as intended to tighten Israel’s grip on the territory leading to eventual annexation. Milson took a hard line with protestors.

During his administration, nine West Bank mayors were summarily removed from office for alleged ties with the PLO and a number of Arab town councils were ousted, in effect negating the 1976 elections in the territories. The deposed mayors were replaced either by Israeli officials or Palestinians amenable to the Israeli regime.

Meanwhile, the pressure inside Israel for a judicial inquiry increased significantly when Dr. Amnon Goldenberg, president of the Israel Bar Association, publicly came out in favor of such an inquiry. In a TV interview, Goldenberg — who is a Likud liberal and was once Begin’s candidate for Justice Minister — said the issue was not political: it touched upon the essence of Israel’s character as a state.