Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, June 27, 1994 TAG: 9406270063
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: The Washington Post
DATELINE: JERUSALEM LENGTH: Medium
In a 350-page report that appears likely to spark further debate, the five-man commission did not recommend disciplinary action against anyone. The panel said no one can be blamed for having failed to foresee such a massacre, a conclusion hailed by Israeli government ministers who had feared the commission would demand action against high-ranking officials.
But Hebron Mayor Mustafa Natshe took issue with the conclusion that Goldstein alone was responsible. "The atmosphere in the mosque in the period before the massacre, the harassment [by] the settlers during the Muslim prayers, has created the atmosphere that helped Goldstein to go and commit his crime," he said.
The panel said it was "an unfortunate coincidence" that all the security forces were not on duty when the massacre occurred. But it criticized what it described as lax discipline and malfunctioning security systems at the site, which have long been points of friction between Jewish and Muslim worshipers.
The panel did not tackle broad issues raised in the aftermath of the massacre, such as whether Jewish settlers should continue to reside in the middle of predominantly Arab Hebron.
Rather, the panel focused on details of the crime and prevention of future attacks. It called for setting up a new security arrangement at the tomb, including separate worship areas for Muslims and Jews; creation of a special police unit for the tomb; and a ban on civilians carrying in weapons.
The panel did find, however, that Israeli law enforcement had all but broken down in the occupied territories when it came to investigating Arab complaints against Jewish settlers and Jewish complaints of Arab violence. There was "a sort of voluntary abdication of effective control on the ground" by the Israeli authorities.
by CNB