Israeli Army Begins Trials in Brutality Cases

The army today opened its first major misconduct trials against soldiers charged with brutality in the Arab rebellion. Two of the four soldiers admitted that they helped bury Palestinians alive. A defense attorney said it was little more than “letting off steam.”

The trials involved the burial alive of four Arabs by an army bulldozer Feb. 5 in Kfar Salem, a West Bank village, and the beating Feb. 24 of two Palestinians near Nablus, which was photographed by a CBS News crew.

Neighbors soon rescued the buried Palestinians. The beating was televised around the world and aroused international protest.

At least 100 Palestinians have been killed in more than three months of violence in the occupied territories, and hundreds wounded.

Pair Plead Guilty

Yair Nissimi and Dror Segen-Cohen, both army privates, pleaded guilty in the burial case to reduced charges of shameful behavior. The plea bargain would give Nissimi 2 1/2 months in jail and Segen-Cohen 2 months, and both would be placed on probation.

A three-judge panel is to rule March 29 on whether to accept the arrangement.

Mustafa Hamdan, one of those buried, said of the plea bargain: “They buried four people alive. If an Arab did that they would have given him 200 years.”

Defense lawyer Josef Danai said in court that the burial was “an instance of letting off steam, revenge and deterrence” by soldiers in difficult circumstances.

‘Spilled a Little Earth’

“We have to view this in its proper proportion,” he said. “After all, what did they do? They spilled a little earth on them. The tractor driver said an ant could have gotten out of it.”

Danai said the army is sending to the occupied territories “young boys inexperienced in life who . . . are unable to handle this difficult mission.” Sgt. Amichai Vaturi, who was at the scene but is not charged, testified that the Arabs were covered with about two feet of wet earth but that their heads and shoulders were exposed.

Hamdan said the heads of three men were covered.

In the beating case, Sgt. Maj. Charlie Danino pleaded innocent to charges of assault and unbecoming conduct, and is expected to argue that he was not at the scene.

Sagi Harpaz and Yehuda Angel, army privates, pleaded innocent to assault and the case was recessed.

Angel’s lawyer, David Ofek, called the defendants scapegoats. “The orders to soldiers were to break arms and legs of Arab inciters they capture,” he said.