| Revision as of 19:19, 17 December 2001 view sourceUriyan (talk | contribs)1,634 edits + link to Menachem Begin← Previous edit | Revision as of 19:48, 17 December 2001 view source Simon J Kissane (talk | contribs)1 edit made account of Shabra and Shatila more neutral; explain why Belgium has legal right to try Sharon for war crimes, and why its laws aren't unique in the world (Israel has similar laws)Next edit → | ||
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| == Sabra and Shatila == | == Sabra and Shatila == | ||
| During the Israeli invasion of Lebanon in 1982, while Ariel Sharon was Defense Minister, a massacre of several hundred Palestinians occured in the Shabra and Shatila refugee camps in Beirut. The massacre was done by Lebanese factions aligned with Israel (known as the Phalanges, led by Bashir Gemayel) |
During the Israeli invasion of Lebanon in 1982, while Ariel Sharon was Defense Minister, a massacre of several hundred Palestinians occured in the Shabra and Shatila refugee camps in Beirut. The massacre was done by Lebanese factions aligned with Israel (known as the Phalanges, led by Bashir Gemayel). Israel claimed that "terrorists", i.e. ] ] forces, were hiding inside the camps, a claim which many disagree with. Sharon reached agreement with these factions that the Israeli army would only surround these camps, while the factions' forces would enter the camps and dispose of the Fatah militants within. | ||
| Prior to ] ], ] all went by plan. Israeli troops surrounded the camps. However when the Planages went in, they began a great massacre, in retaliation for the |
Prior to ] ], ] all went by plan. Israeli troops surrounded the camps. However when the Planages went in, they began a great massacre, in retaliation for the killing of Bashir Gemayel, their leader, by a Muslim faction several days earlier. For the next 36 hours they went on uninterrupted. The Israeli military then ordered the Phalanges to leave the. Approximately 2000 Palestinian refugees died in the massacre. Israel claims that the Israeli military was not aware that the massacre was occuring, and ordered the Phalangists to withdraw when they discovered it had happened. | ||
| These events aroused a great degree of controversy in the Israeli public. The Israeli government appointed a commission, led by the former Supreme Justice Kahan, that investigated these events. Their report, which was finished in early 1983, stated that while |
These events aroused a great degree of controversy in the Israeli public. The Israeli government appointed a commission, led by the former Supreme Justice Kahan, that investigated these events. Their report, which was finished in early 1983, stated that while there was no evidence Sharon knew about the Phalangists' plans (and was in no way associatated with the massacres), his ignoring of the hostility between Lebanese Christians and Muslims was outrageously negligent. The committee recommended Sharon's dismisal as the Minister of Defense. | ||
| This view of the things was also upheld by an American court, when Sharon won a libel case against the Time Magazine, which had published in 1987 a story that implied Sharon's direct responsibility for Sabra and Shatila. In early 2001, relatives of the victims of the massacre have begun proceedings in Belgium, seeking to have Ariel Sharon indicted on war crimes charges. |
This view of the things was also upheld by an American court, when Sharon won a libel case against the Time Magazine, which had published in 1987 a story that implied Sharon's direct responsibility for Sabra and Shatila. In early 2001, relatives of the victims of the massacre have begun proceedings in Belgium, seeking to have Ariel Sharon indicted on war crimes charges. States have the right under international law to try war crimes, genocide and crimes against humanity, even when the crime did not involve their nationals and did not occur on their territory, since these crimes are recognized as being subject to universal jurisdiction. (Israel made use of the same right as Belgium when it tried and convicted Adolf Eichmann for his involvement in the Holocaust, even though neither he nor any of his victims were Israeli nationals at the time, and the crime was not committed on Israeli territory.) | ||
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Revision as of 19:48, 17 December 2001
Ariel Sharon is the Prime Minister of Israel, (February 17, ]-present). He was born in 1928 in Kfar Malal.
For over 25 years he was a member of the Israeli Defence Force (IDF), reaching the rank of Major-General before retiring. He is particularly known for his daring actions during the Yom Kippur War, when he took the initiative from the Egyptians by crossing the Suez Canal with his brigade.
Political life
He was a member of the Knesset 1973-1974, and then from 1977-present. He served as Minister of Agriculture (1977-1981), then as Defense Minister (1981-1983) in Menachem Begin's Likud government. He resigned from his post as Defense Minister amid allegations surrounding a massacre of Palestinian refugees in Lebanon by Lebanese factions allied with Israel (see below), and then served as a Minister without portfolio (1983-1984), Minister for Trade and Industry (1984-1990), and Minister for Housing Construction (1990-1992). Then he was Minister of National Infrastructure (1996-1998), and Foreign Minister (1998-1999). Upon the election of the Barak Labor government, he became leader of the Likud party. After the collapse of Barak's government, he was elected Prime Minister in February 2001.
Sabra and Shatila
During the Israeli invasion of Lebanon in 1982, while Ariel Sharon was Defense Minister, a massacre of several hundred Palestinians occured in the Shabra and Shatila refugee camps in Beirut. The massacre was done by Lebanese factions aligned with Israel (known as the Phalanges, led by Bashir Gemayel). Israel claimed that "terrorists", i.e. Yasser Arafat's Fatah forces, were hiding inside the camps, a claim which many disagree with. Sharon reached agreement with these factions that the Israeli army would only surround these camps, while the factions' forces would enter the camps and dispose of the Fatah militants within.
Prior to Thursday September 16, 1982 all went by plan. Israeli troops surrounded the camps. However when the Planages went in, they began a great massacre, in retaliation for the killing of Bashir Gemayel, their leader, by a Muslim faction several days earlier. For the next 36 hours they went on uninterrupted. The Israeli military then ordered the Phalanges to leave the. Approximately 2000 Palestinian refugees died in the massacre. Israel claims that the Israeli military was not aware that the massacre was occuring, and ordered the Phalangists to withdraw when they discovered it had happened.
These events aroused a great degree of controversy in the Israeli public. The Israeli government appointed a commission, led by the former Supreme Justice Kahan, that investigated these events. Their report, which was finished in early 1983, stated that while there was no evidence Sharon knew about the Phalangists' plans (and was in no way associatated with the massacres), his ignoring of the hostility between Lebanese Christians and Muslims was outrageously negligent. The committee recommended Sharon's dismisal as the Minister of Defense.
This view of the things was also upheld by an American court, when Sharon won a libel case against the Time Magazine, which had published in 1987 a story that implied Sharon's direct responsibility for Sabra and Shatila. In early 2001, relatives of the victims of the massacre have begun proceedings in Belgium, seeking to have Ariel Sharon indicted on war crimes charges. States have the right under international law to try war crimes, genocide and crimes against humanity, even when the crime did not involve their nationals and did not occur on their territory, since these crimes are recognized as being subject to universal jurisdiction. (Israel made use of the same right as Belgium when it tried and convicted Adolf Eichmann for his involvement in the Holocaust, even though neither he nor any of his victims were Israeli nationals at the time, and the crime was not committed on Israeli territory.)
/Talk