Shamir Denies Any Role in Shin Bet Scandal

Foreign Minister Yitzhak Shamir, denying any role in the scandal that has shaken the Israeli government, said he was not involved in the 1984 killings of two captured Palestinian bus hijackers.

In an newspaper interview published Thursday, Shamir said he knew nothing of the matter until an agent of the Shin Bet, the Israeli equivalent to the FBI, informed government leaders about the case last October.

The right-wing Likud Bloc leader, who was prime minister when the bus hijacking occurred, had refused until now to address allegations that he approved the killings of the Palestinians and a subsequent Shin Bet cover-up.

“Not only did I not know; nobody knew,” Shamir told the daily Yediot Aharonot when asked how, as the minister responsible for Shin Bet activities, he was unaware of its actions.

Shamir is to become prime minister again in October under a power-sharing coalition agreement signed with Prime Minister Shimon Peres after inconclusive elections in 1984.

Shin Bet chief Avraham Shalom resigned last week in exchange for immunity from prosecution in a government move that critics charged was aimed at avoiding an embarrassing inquiry.

In his written request for a pardon, Shalom said he had acted with the permission of his superiors, an apparent reference to Shamir.

Shamir strongly opposes any inquiry of the Shin Bet, saying a probe would harm state security. He has accused Peres’ Labor Party colleagues of using the case as an excuse to abrogate the power-sharing agreement.