The families of four young Arab bus hijackers killed last April 13, have appealed to the Supreme Court to force the Defense Ministry to release the full text of the official inquiry into the incident.
The inquiry was conducted by a panel headed by Maj. Gen. (res.) Meir Zorea who was appointed by Defense Minister Moshe Arens for the task. It confirmed media reports that two of the four hijackers were taken alive after Israeli forces stormed the bus to free its passengers. They were beaten to death by Israeli security men while undergoing interrogation in a nearby field, the panel found.
The families of the dead hijackers, all residents of the Gaza Strip claim that the edited version of the Zorea report which was made public concealed the full circumstances of the incident. They also contend that the Defense Minister’s “behavior” raised suspicions that the investigation was intended to “whitewash” the truth in order to defuse local criticism and protect Israel’s image abroad.
The father of one of the dead youths has also demanded an official investigation of reports that his son’s body was mutilated after his death.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
