Twenty Five years later, Israel tries to forget the Sabra-Shatilla Massacre (Ya Libnan)

Friday, 14 September, 2007 @ 11:19 PM
On September 16th 1982, Israel facilitated the massacre of over a thousand Palestinian refugees in the Sabra and Shatila refugee camps in Beirut, Lebanon. Twenty five years later, Israel continues to attempt to hide its involvement in the slaughter.

By noon of September 15th, the Israeli Defense Force had completely surrounded the Sabra-Shatila camps, and controlled all entrances and exits by the means of checkpoints. The IDF also occupied a number of multi-storey buildings as observation posts. Amongst those, was the seven-story Kuwaiti embassy, which, according to a Time journalist, had "an unobstructed and panaromic view" of the camps. Hours later, IDF tanks began shelling the camps.
"It is striking that the defense minister at the time, who was held directly responsible by a state commission, went on to become prime minister in 2001 and benefit from a resurgence of popularity," he said.
In February 1983, Ariel Sharon was forced to resign after the commission of inquiry headed by then Supreme Court Chairman Yitzhak Kahan, blamed him for failing to stop the massacre of hundreds of Palestinian men, women and children at the hands of his Lebanese allies.
The Kahan commission found Sharon (pictured right) "indirectly" and "personally" responsible for the killings and reproached him for not appreciating the risks of revenge after Lebanese president elect Bashir Gemayel was killed.
Gemayel, who was Israel's most important ally in Lebanon and a leader of the Lebanese Forces militia which went on to spearhead the massacres, was killed on September 14, 1982 in a bombing that left his supporters braying for revenge.
Immediately following the assassination, Ariel Sharon informs Gemayel’s Phalangist militias that Israel has proof the Palestinians are responsible. The bombing was actually carried out by Habib Chartouni, an agent of Syrian Intelligence.
Less than 24 hours later, the Israeli army took control of the Muslim sector of Beirut, and Sharon and Chief of Staff Rafael Eitan gave the green light for Gemayel's enraged militia supporters, inviting them to enter the Sabra and Shatila refugee camps to clean out "terrorist nests". Under the Israeli plan, Israeli soldiers would control the perimeters of the refugee camps and provide logistical support while the Phalangists would enter the camps, find the PLO fighters and hand them over to Israeli forces.
Why did Sharon not see the risk? Why did Israeli soldiers not intervene to stop the massacres? How exactly were Israeli officials involved?
A quarter of a century later, the answers are still unclear. In Israel, the questions are rarely asked and no answers are likely to be forthcoming.
Sharon has been in a coma for nearly two years. Elie Hobeika (pictured right), the former intelligence chief for the Lebanese Forces whom Israel held responsible, was assassinated in 2002.
On January 21st, 2002, Hobeika met secretly with two Belgian senators, Josy Dubie and Vincent van Quickenborne, and agreed to testify against Sharon. News of the meeting was leaked to the Lebanese press. At 10:00am on 23 January 2002, Hobeika was killed when a massive car bomb detonated under his car, as he drove from his home in East Beirut.
Sharon always maintained he could not be blamed for Arab Christians killing Arab Muslims, charging that he was the victim of a defamation campaign.
The argument didn't wash with the Kahan commission but historian Tom Segev believes he "certainly had an impact on Israeli opinion".
"The fact that Sabra and Shatila are far from Israeli minds today is not to say that at the time, the killings were not deeply traumatic as demonstrated by a monster demonstration in Tel Aviv," Segev said.
"But since then, the second intifada broke out in 2000 followed by a wave of attacks. These developments brought Sharon to power as the only strong man capable of stopping terrorism and his role in the Lebanon war was forgotten."
Israel sealed off the camps for three days, while Lebanese militias, notably the Lebanese Forces, went on a killing spree, targeting helpless civilians.
Between 800 and 2,000 Palestinians, and 100 Lebanese, died as Israeli troops watched the militiamen carry out mass murder in Sabra and Shatila.
According to an account of the event, at one point, a militiaman's radioed question to his commander Hobeika about what to do with the women and children in the refugee camp was overheard by an Israeli officer, who heard Hobeika reply that "This is the last time you're going to ask me a question like that; you know exactly what to do".
A group of survivors tried to launch a lawsuit in Belgium against Sharon and an Israeli army general over the massacre, but in September 2003 a Belgian court threw out the case.
The survivors continue to blame the Israeli army, Sharon and Christian Lebanese militia commanders, including the late Hobeika.
But historians agree on one point: behind the massacre was a desire among the Lebanese Forces to end any Palestinian armed presence in Lebanon -- the same vision behind Israel's assault on Beirut in 1982.
"I don't believe (Israel) decided the Christian militia would commit a massacre or that there was an explicit green light but these things don't need to be said," Sela noted.