Col. Issachar Shadmi, who issued the order under which an Israel border police unit killed 49 Arabs of the Kafr Kassem village on the eve of the Sinai campaign, was sentenced today to a token fine by a military court which found him guilty of acting beyond his authority in issuing the curfew order.
Col. Shadmi, who was fined the equivalent of less than one half of an American cent, was acquitted on a murder charge. The court recommended that he should retain his army post.
The officer declared, after the verdict, that he still had no feeling of guilt and that his action was motivated by his best understanding of the circumstances under which it was issued. The dead included Arab women and children.
The commanders of the unit, Major Shmuel Melinki and Lt. Gabriel Dehan, and nine of their subordinates, were sentenced last year to varying terms of seven to 15 years after they were convicted of murder in the killings.
During their trial, the border police commanders claimed that the order to kill stemmed from a declaration by Col. Shadmi, in issuing the curfew order, “Allah Yerichmu, ” meaning “Let Allah have mercy on their souls, ” which they said they interpreted as giving them a free hand to kill curfew violators.
In the verdict against the unit members, the court had stressed that Col. Shadmi might also be responsible in the killings. He was recalled from Paris and brought to trial. A military court meanwhile continued hearings on the appeal of the border policemen.
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