Israeli Court OKs Pardons in Shin Bet Case

Israel’s Supreme Court on Wednesday upheld presidential pardons for the head of the Shin Bet security police and three of his top aides in connection with the 1984 beating deaths of two Palestinians taken prisoner in connection with a bus hijacking.

If it stands up, the court’s decision means that the four are immune from prosecution--even though they have admitted wrongdoing--on charges of ordering the killings or in covering up Shin Bet involvement. Under Israeli law, Wednesday’s ruling by a three-judge panel may still be appealed to a broader panel of five or seven Supreme Court justices.

The ruling removes the right of the security officials to remain silent before a police inquiry that has been charged with looking into the incident.

Police Team Convened

Immediately after Wednesday’s ruling, which was read to a packed Jerusalem courtroom, David Kraus, inspector general of Israel’s national police, convened a meeting of the special investigative team that he has assigned to the case.

Avraham Shalom, the pardoned Shin Bet director, is on record as saying, according to court documents, that he acted in the affair “with permission and on authority” of his superiors.

Foreign Minister Yitzhak Shamir was prime minister at the time of the 1984 incident; Shalom reported directly to him. Shamir, who is scheduled to become prime minister again in October under an agreement with Shimon Peres, the present prime minister, has denied any wrongdoing.

Chief Justice Meir Shamgar and Justice Miriam Ben-Porat ruled that President Chaim Herzog acted within his authority June 25 when he granted pardons to Shalom and three of his senior aides.

In an affidavit filed by former Atty. Gen. Yitzhak Zamir, Shalom was charged with having ordered the killings of the Palestinians, and his aides were accused of falsifying or withholding evidence in two previous investigations of the incident.

In a dissenting opinion Wednesday, Justice Aharon Barak said Herzog had no power to grant a pardon before the suspects had been tried. He said the court’s ruling gives the president virtually unlimited authority to grant pardons and that this is in conflict with the Israeli state’s democratic principles.

In a related issue, the court ruled unanimously against ordering a state commission of inquiry into the Shin Bet scandal, indicating that it considers the police inquiry to be adequate.

The incident that gave rise to the scandal occurred on April 13, 1984, when four Palestinians hijacked an Israeli commuter bus. Authorities said at first that all four were killed in an attack by Israeli counterterrorist forces. But photographs published in defiance of the Israeli censor showed two of them being led alive to a nearby field, where they were beaten to death.

The court’s rulings Wednesday were in response to petitions by private attorneys, law professors, leftist Israeli members of Parliament and relatives of the two slain Palestinians.

Yossi Sarid, one of the petitioners and a member of Parliament representing the Citizens Rights Movement, said: “I’m not disappointed. The result was expected, so there is no room for disappointment or frustration. And we have to take into consideration that we have achieved our main target--to force the government to open an official investigation.”

Sarid said the group he represents has not decided yet whether to appeal the ruling, although some of the other petitioners have indicated their intention to do so.

Chief Justice Shamgar, who voted in favor of the ruling, would have to agree to any rehearing.

Herzog granted the pardons as part of a negotiated deal intended to limit the damage to the security services and to the political leadership. In return, Shalom submitted his resignation, although he continues to act as Shin Bet chief pending appointment of a replacement.

Anger Over Cover-up

The deal caused an uproar on the political left, where it was charged that it undermined the rule of law. Public opinion polls indicate that most Israelis believe the affair should be forgotten rather than cause further damage to the security services with more investigations.

What public outrage there was over the government’s handling of the case was based not on the deaths of the two Palestinians but on the cover-up, which placed a senior army officer under a cloud for more than a year.

Nevertheless, the court petitions forced the Cabinet to reconsider the case. And in a hotly contested decision last month, the Cabinet split along partisan lines in refusing to order a full state inquiry into the incident.

On the same day, Atty. Gen. Yosef Harish ordered the police to go ahead with an investigation ordered by Zamir, his predecessor.

A dozen other Shin Bet agents, accused of complicity in the actual beatings or other aspects of the cover-up, are expected to seek presidential pardons in the wake of Wednesday’s rulings. Herzog’s office said Wednesday that none has been sought yet.

Some legal experts said the lower-level agents will have a strong argument on grounds that they should be treated no worse before the law than the superiors who ordered their actions.

Kraus, the police inspector general, has said that much of the background investigation into the Shin Bet affair has already been completed and that he was awaiting the Supreme Court ruling before beginning to subpoena witnesses.

It is not clear whether the investigation will be completed before the scheduled Oct. 14 rotation of Prime Minister Peres and Foreign Minister Shamir.

The results of the police investigation will go to Atty. Gen. Harish, who must then decide whether to bring charges against any of those involved who have not been pardoned.