Deputy Premier Yitzhak Shamir broke his official silence on the Shin Bet affair to take the offensive against intimations that the events surrounding the capture and subsequent unexplained deaths of two Arab bus hijackers while in the custody of security agents in April, 1984 occurred with his direct knowledge and approval.
Shamir, who was Prime Minister at the time of the occurrences and therefore the authority to which Shin Bet was solely responsible, disavowed any knowledge of irregularities until eight months ago. In an extensive interview published in Yediot Achronot, Shamir who is Foreign Minister and leader of Likud, maintained that in the highest echelons of government “nobody knew.”
His statements flatly contradicted the statement by former Shin Bet chief Avraham Shalom that he had acted with “authority and permission” in every aspect of the case. Shalom offered that defense in applying for a Presidential pardon when he resigned as head of Israel’s internal security services two weeks ago, after being accused by former Shin Bet operatives of ordering the hijackers to be killed and engaging in an elaborate cover-up, including perjury at two subsequent quasi-judicial inquiries.
SHAMIR HAS BEEN IMPLICATED IN SCANDAL
The a priori pardons granted by President Chaim Herzog to Shalom and three of his aides have been challenged before the Supreme Court. The court ordered the government last Wednesday to show cause within two weeks why a full scale investigation of the affair should not be undertaken.
Shamir has vigorously opposed any form of investigation on grounds that a probe of Shin Bet activities would seriously compromise State security. But the Foreign Minister has himself been implicated indirectly in the charges brought against Shalom because he headed the Likud-led government in April, 1984.
He told Yediot Achronot that he first learned of alleged irregularities in the handling of the bus hijackers last October 29 from Reuven Hazak, former deputy chief of Shin Bet. Hazak was one of three senior operatives dismissed by Shalom who filed complaints against him with former Attorney General Yitzhak Zamir. Asked how he as Prime Minister could not have known about such serious charges, Shamir replied, “I wasn’t the only one who didn’t know. Nobody knew.” The interviewer also confronted Shamir with a statement attributed to Premier Shimon Peres that “The head of the Shin Bet told me that he had general backing for all the events which had taken place during the raid on the bus. Regarding later events, which were the subject of the complaint to the Attorney General, the head of Shin Bet had informal backing.”
When the interviewer observed that “This was not denied either by Peres or by the head of the Shin Bet” and asked Shamir for his reaction, the Foreign Minister replied, “I find it unacceptable that anyone said such things. It is simply impossible.”
The bus was hijacked by four Arab terrorists and was intercepted by Israel Defense Force units in the Gaza Strip. Two of the terrorists were killed when the bus was stormed. The two captured alive were turned over to security agents for interrogation. They were killed before they could be transferred to jail.
REPORTEDLY DID NOT APPROVE KILLINGS OR COVER UP
According to Yediot Achronot, sources close to Shamir said he had not ordered the two killed and attributed their deaths to “a local initiative by security men who were on the spot.” Shamir did not approve of the killing, he did not support it retroactively and did not approve of any cover-up, the sources were quoted as saying.
Shalom has come under attack from Likud circles in recent days. They say that a person who misled two inquiries into the affair would not hesitate to level false charges against Shamir. According to those circles, Shalom’s statement that he had acted with full authority is untrue.
While Likud is opposed to an investigation of Shin Bet, Shamir said last week that he would accept whatever the Cabinet decided. According to some reports, Attorney General Yosef Harish is expected to recommend the appointment of a single investigator to determine procedures and coordination in the future between Shin Bet and the political echelons. Most Labor ministers and the Labor Party’s Knesset faction have demanded a full scale judicial commission of inquiry into the charges against Shalom.
Shamir has reportedly told his aides he believes the Attorney General’s recommendations would coincide with his own view that what is needed now is the establishment of new rules to guide Shin Bet in the future. But Labor ministers maintain it would be unacceptable for the Attorney General to use his office to cover up the affair and extricate Shamir.
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