The head of Israel’s domestic intelligence service and six other senior security officials were warned this week that they may be held responsible for the security lapses that led to the assassination of Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin.
The seven received the warnings in letters sent Monday by the Shamgar commission of inquiry, the government-appointed three-member panel investigating the assassination.
In the past, officials who received letters of warning from a commission of inquiry were ultimately held responsible, said Moshe Negbi, Israel Radio’s legal commentator.
The Shamgar commission has the authority to recommend that the officials be fired and prevented from being given senior posts in the future.
The letters were sent a day before the opening of the trial of Yigal Amir, the 25-year-old law student who confessed to shooting Rabin after a Nov. 4 peace rally in Tel Aviv.
The head of the intelligence service – known as the General Security Service or Shin Bet – was warned that he could be held responsible if the commission found that he had failed to make sure his agency was prepared to deal with an attempt by Jewish extremists to assassinate the prime minister, in light of information the service had obtained, Israel Radio reported.
The other Shin Bet officials who received letters include the head of the protection unit, the head of the VIP protection unit, the head of the VIP protection unit’s operation section and the head of the Jewish affairs division.
Each letter referred to the specific security issues – such as gathering information about possible assassination plots and ensuring that unauthorized persons were not allowed in the area where Rabin’s car was parked – for which each official might be held responsible.
Intelligence officials are not identified by name.
Ya’acov Shoval, a senior Tel Aviv police official, also received a letter of warning.
The commission’s deliberations were suspended until Dec. 31, so that the seven officials could “prepare for the continuation” of the deliberations, a Justice Ministry official said.
They would be allowed to appear before the commission with an attorney, and have the right to cross-examine witnesses, Negbi said.
Prime Minister Shimon Peres, after the letters were issued, told the head of the Shin Bet that he has “an important position, and it is your duty to continue to carry it out,” according to a statement from the Prime Minister’s Office.
Peres added that he would assist the Shin Bet head in every way possible so that he could continue to carry out his position properly.
Meanwhile, speaking to reporters in the Knesset, Peres said he would respect any recommendations made by the commission.
Also Monday, the Channel 2 commercial television station announced that it had bought the rights to a videotape filmed by an amateur photographer at the Nov. 4 rally. The tape is believed to contain the only known footage of the assassination.
Israeli journalists who have already seen the tape described it as “shocking.” Although sometimes shaky and out-of-focus, the relevant eight-minute segment shows Amir standing behind a plant in a parking lot below the terrace where the rally took place, and then walking up to Rabin and shooting him.
Channel 2 joined with the Israeli daily Yediot Achronot to purchase the rights to the tape for a reported $390,000.
The sale followed intensive negotiations between news organizations and lawyers representing the photographer, whose identity has been kept secret.
Shalom Kital, news director at Channel 2, confirmed the joint purchase and described the tape as a “matter of very great public and media worth,” Israel Radio reported.
He said the tape would be broadcast on a special program, most likely this week, that could also include an interview with the photographer.
Israel Television dropped out of the bidding, saying the sum was too high. Yair Stern, director of Israel Television, told Israel Radio that the state-run station would have had to use revenues from the television tax to make the purchase.
Not everyone at Channel 2 was pleased with the way the negotiations were handled.
Board member Danny Block told Israel Radio that given the subject, he would have preferred that Channel 2 take up a proposal from Israel Television to share the broadcast rights and control the bidding price.
Members of the Rabin family also were not pleased. Rabin’s daughter, Dalia Philosof, said viewing the video would be difficult for the family.
Leah Rabin, speaking to reporters at a ceremony naming a Tel Aviv high school after her slain husband, said she had “no desire, capability or interest” in watching the video.
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.
