Israel General Acquitted in 2 Arab Deaths

An army disciplinary court Sunday found innocent of any wrongdoing the Israeli general who was in charge of an operation in which two Arab terrorists were beaten to death after they hijacked a civilian Israeli bus in April, 1984.

Brig. Gen. Yitzhak Mordechai, the army’s chief paratrooper and infantry officer, was brought before the disciplinary panel Friday in the wake of a series of civilian and military inquiries into the controversial incident.

Mordechai was charged with excessive use of force and conduct unbecoming an officer after the earlier investigations determined that it was impossible to know which blows, admittedly delivered to the Arabs by Mordechai and at least eight other security officers, had actually killed them.

The hearing officer, Maj. Gen. Chaim Nadel, ruled Sunday that Mordechai had acted under the extreme pressure of the moment, when it was still unclear whether the terrorists had left explosives on the bus that could injure or kill innocent people.

Action ‘Not Unreasonable’

“The injury done by the chief paratrooper and infantry officer to the terrorists in the incident under discussion is not unreasonable in light of the endangerment of human lives he sought to prevent in this incident,” Nadel ruled. Nadel is a former president of the army’s court of appeals.

The incident occurred on April 12, 1984, when the four armed Arabs, all residents of the occupied Gaza Strip, hijacked a transit bus with about 30 passengers aboard on its regular evening run from Tel Aviv to Ashkelon on the southern Israeli coast.

Israeli security forces stopped the vehicle near the Egyptian border and, after a night of futile negotiations with the terrorists who had threatened to blow up the bus and passengers, stormed it just before dawn. Two of the terrorists and an Israeli woman soldier who was a passenger on the bus were killed in the action.

The army at first announced that all four terrorists were killed in the storming of the bus, but later an Israeli newspaper broke censorship to publish a photograph showing two of the Arabs being led away from the scene, apparently unhurt.

A military commission reported in May, 1984, that the two died in captivity after being slapped, kicked, and beaten with weapons by security personnel.

Ministry Statement

A statement issued at the time declared that the Defense Ministry “sees with great seriousness, and most strongly condemns, the behavior which led to the death of two terrorists captured on the bus--behavior which clearly contradicts basic regulations and norms which everyone, especially the security forces, are duty bound to follow.”

The statement added that “not even the special circumstances of the situation justify such behavior,” and it promised legal steps against anyone found guilty of unlawful behavior.

An inquiry team appointed by Israel’s attorney general concluded its work earlier this month. It said that it was not possible to determine who struck the fatal blow and that the cause of death may have been blows delivered during the initial storming of the bus to stun the hijackers. Nevertheless, it said that there was “prima facie evidence” against Mordechai for causing grievous bodily harm and for unbecoming conduct.

The military advocate general, whose decision it became to bring charges against the paratroop commander, decided against a court martial and its potentially more severe penalties because of the “special circumstances” of the case. Instead, he ordered the disciplinary hearing that began Friday.

Israel radio reported Sunday that Nadel’s verdict is likely to clear the way for the planned promotion of Mordechai to major general and his appointment to an unnamed “senior post.”