31
7,terdeilif
Scandal Erupts Over
Israeli Terror Coverup
Jerusalem (JTA) — Prime
Minister Shimon Peres was
scheduled to convene a meeting
of senior ministers last Monday
in connection with Attorney
General Yitzhak Zamir's ap-
parent intention to proceed with
the investigation of a "senior of-
ficial" implicated, according to
Zamir, in an affair that en-
dangered the rule of law and
democracy in Israel.
The matter erupted into a
public scandal amid reports that
Zamir was being forced to quash
the investigation under heavy
pressure from certain senior
ministers. Peres conceded at the
weekly Cabinet meeting that
there was indeed a "legitimate
controversy."
The "senior official" in ques-
tion reportedly is Avraham
Shalom, head of Shabak, Is-
rael's internal security service
commonly known as Shin Bet.
No details were released on the
nature of the investigation. Ac-
cording to press preports, Zamir
planned to instruct the police to
launch an investigation against
a senior official in an affair that
had been investigated in the
past and legal steps taken
against several persons in-
volved.
It was reported that the com-
plaint against the "senior of-
,
The disruption
consisted of
concealing facts,
blurring evidence
and persuading
witnesses to lie.
ficial" was filed several days ago
at police headquarters and that
the matter was delayed only
because Police Inspector Gen-
eral David Markus was out of
the countrSr.
Justice Minister Yitzhak
Modai stated categorically that
there has been no government
intervention in the matter. "I
understand that the Attorney
General decided to go ahead
with his position, and that is his
right, and even his duty," Mon-
dai said.
Zamir said that what has been
published to date about the
"senior official" was not entire-
ly accurate and did not indicate
the serious nature of the charges
and the great danger to law and
the democratic regime in Israel.
In a message to the Knesset's
Law Committee, relayed through
its chairman, Eli Koulas,, Zamir
reaffirmed that the central con-
sideration in this affair is not
security but the basic values of
the State. Koulas, a Likud MK,
indicated that he, too, had the
impression that there was being
used to cover up and protect "il-
legitimate interests."
The Knesset committee said it
would invite Peres and Zamir to
inform it of the facts.
A group of senior ministers
conferred on the issue prior to
the Cabinet session, and ad-
opted a common position, Peres
disclosed. But he did not elab-
orate. He added, however, that
while one must take into ac-
count "legal considerations"
sometimes those considerations
clash with security considera-
tions and they too must be
taken into account. Cabinet
Secretary Yosin Beilin said the
government did not pressure
Zamir not to pursue legal
measures :which is his respon-
sibility.
There has been no confirma-
tion here of the report that the
"senior official" facing in-
vestigation is the head of
Shabak. According to press
acounts, however, the Attorney
General apparently has evidence
that Shabak disrupted the work
of a commission of inquiry into
the deaths of two Arab ter-
rorists who hijacked an Egged
bus near the Gaza Strip two
years ago and were allegedly
beaten to death by Israeli
security forces who intercepted
them.
The disruption consisted of
concealing facts, blurring
evidence and persuading wit-
nesses to lie, according to the
press accounts. The press also
reported that the "senior of-
ficial" had a falling out with
three of his subordinates who
were forced to resign from the
service. Those three later passed
on evidence to Zamir which led
to the charges, the press reports
said.
Minister of Commerce and In-
dustry Ariel Sharon said that
the entire matter should be
dropped because it was shaking
"the foundations of Israel's
defense." According to Sharon,
a former Defense Minister and
Herut hardliner, Israel is not
like other nations because it has
grave survival problems, Arab
terrorism being the worst. It is
not democracy but the state
that is threatened, Sharon main-
tained.
Similar comments were made
by associates of Foreign
Minister Yitzhak Shamir, the
Likud leader. Peres has said
nothing beyond his comment
that law and security sometimes
are in conflict. Defense Minister
Yitzhak Rabin observed that
the matter was not one of the
government above the law.
The affair broke a few days
after Zamir angered several
ministers, Modal in particular,
when he openly criticized the
Knesset's failure to pass an anti-
racism bill owing to pressure
from the Orthodox bloc. There
have been recent statements by
several public officials sug-
gesting that the powers of the
Attorney General be reduced.
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