Jerry Slater, author of an important analysis of New York Times vs. Haaretz in coverage of Israel/Palestine, writes:
Another in the chronicle of New York Times whitewashes of Israel. In today's Times, Ethan Bronner reviews Waltz With Bashir, an Israeli documentary about the 1982 Lebanon War
and the Sabra and Shatilla massacre. Bronner says the massacre of
hundreds or thousands of Palestinian civilians by Israel's primary
Lebanese ally, the Phalangists, was "inadvertently" facilitated by the Israeli Army.
He later quotes Israeli soldiers saying "they had no idea the killing
was taking place, although many have argued that they should have
suspected as much."
That's like quoting Milosevic saying that
"he had no idea that Serbians were massacring Muslims in Bosnia," while
adding, lamely, that "many have argued he should have suspected as
much."
A great deal has been written–in Israel–about the
central role of the Israeli Army in the massacres, particularly but by
no means exclusively, the 1982 Defense Minister, none other than Ariel Sharon. There is abundant evidence that Sharon and his top commanders knew what would happen if they let the Phalange
into the camps, but not only did they not stop them–which they easily
could have done–but facilitated their entry into the camps.
Moreover, they knew what was happening once the Phalange began their
murderous rampage, and they did not stop it.
How could this have
happened? Uzi Benziman, one of Sharon's leading biographers and most
respected–and non-leftist–journalists provides some cautious
speculation in his book, "Sharon: An Israeli Caesar," published a few
years after the massacre. In the book, Benziman gives a highly
detailed description of the various war crimes
(my language) committed by Sharon throughout his military career. On
Sabra and Shatila, he writes:
the massacre would result in a mass exodus of Palestinians from all
parts of Lebanon.
This wishful thinking coincided, oddly enough, with certain ideas which
Arik Sharon had frequently expressed, namely that the Pals. should be
âencouragedâ to move into Jordan."
Similarly, the Kahan Commission,
an official high level Israeli investigation of the massacre, concluded
that the Phalange units entered the camps with the knowledge, agreement
and cooperation of the IDF,
and that Israeli soldiers were in proximity to the camps âwhile the
slaughter was being carried out,â and did nothing to stop it. While
carefully stopping just short of holding Sharon directly responsible
for the massacre, it concluded that Sharon had failed to exercise
"personal responsibility" to prevent it. And any reader of the full
Kahan report, together with extensive contemporary reporting on the
massacre, will be left with little doubt of the extent of Israeli
collaboration.
