Maalot Inquiry Team Appointed

A three-man commission to investigate the Maalot tragedy was named by Premier Golda Meir in the Knesset today. The move was challenged by Defense Minister Moshe Dayan who said he didn’t believe in “inquiry festivals” and by Likud leader Menachem Beigin who demanded a parliamentary inquiry rather than a government conducted one, and called for the establishment of vigilante committees to combat terrorists.

Mrs. Meir’s announcement followed a Cabinet resolution yesterday to investigate last Thursday’s events at Maalot. She said its terms of reference would not include the military assault on the Netiv Meir school house in Maalot which would be the subject of a separate inquiry by the Chief of Staff. The Maalot panel will be headed by Gen. (Ret.) Amos Horev, president of the Haifa Technion. Its other members, named by the Premier are Moshe Unna, an MK of the National Religious Party; and former States Attorney Ervin Shimron, now a lawyer in private practice. Beigin claimed that a government appointed panel could not command the full confidence of the nation regardless of the caliber of its members.

OPPOSED RETURN OF JAILED TERRORISTS

Dayan, who appeared unexpectedly in the Knesset in what was probably his final appearance as Defense Minister, disclosed that he had opposed last Thursday’s decision by the Cabinet to exchange 20 imprisoned terrorists for the safety of the 90 high school-students and their teachers held hostage by three Arab terrorists in the Maalot school building.

“Where do you draw the line?” Dayan asked. “For 16-year-olds you exchange prisoners but not for 17-year-olds?…And what will happen after this? Our war with the terrorists will be a long drawn out struggle and they do intend to fight it on the backs of children,” Dayan said.

But, he continued, the Cabinet decided and every effort was made to exchange the prisoners for the hostages. Dayan said that he himself was convinced that the authorities had taken more than adequate precautionary measures to prevent a disaster such as occurred at Maalot. But he agreed that certain questions had to be answered.

Premier Meir told the Knesset that the investigation of Maalot would cover the preparedness of the various security authorities in light of warnings that terrorist acts were to be expected on May 15, the 26th anniversary of Israel’s independence; the Gadna (para-military) school outing in which the victims were participating and the security arrangements for it; the terrorist attack on a truck carrying Arab women workers several hours before they invaded Maalot; the murder of three members of the Cohen family in Maalot and the measures taken by the local authorities; and the contacts made with foreign governments in the effort to negotiate an exchange of hostages for imprisoned terrorists.

Mrs. Meir said the commission would meet behind closed doors and would make recommendations. She did not say whether its final report will be published. The Premier promised that Israel could and would defeat the terrorists but said that could not be done “in one fell swoop.” Many terrorist plans have been foiled by government counter-measures, she said, but the government did not publicize those successes.

DEMAND DEATH PENALTY FOR TERRORISTS

Mrs. Meir said she was deeply worried by outbursts of anti-Arab feelings and urged citizens not to take the law into their own hands. But Beigin urged the formation of citizen vigilante squads and the arming of responsible and trained citizens, under proper supervision, to assist the regular forces. He also called for the creation of a special counter-terrorist organization recruited from among former Hagana and Irgun underground fighters and from the Shin Bet, Israel’s secret intelligence service, to pursue a campaign to destroy the terrorists.

Beigin echoed mounting citizen demands for reintroduction of the death penalty for terrorists, noting that if any of the Maalot or Kiryat Shemona killers had been captured alive, the worst they would have suffered, was a life sentence. Dayan observed that the only way to fight terrorists was to ensure that they did not escape alive.

While the debate continued, citizens of Maalot, led by their mayor, demonstrated in an orderly manner outside the Knesset demanding better security and more government attention to their town’s needs. They were joined by several hundred other persons demanding the death penalty for terrorists and opposing withdrawal from any part of the Golan Heights.