AUT: ISRAELI WAR CRIMINAL MEETING WITH US DEFENSE OFFICIALS IN DC

[Lucy Mair <rights@xxxxxxxx>]

*****YARON WATCH******

ISRAELI WAR CRIMINAL MEETING WITH US DEFENSE OFFICIALS IN DC TODAY

Who could forget the brutal massacre of approximately 2,000 Palestinian and
Lebanese civilians in the Sabra and Shatila refugee camps in Beirut,
Lebanon in September 1982?  But how many know that Amos Yaron, one of the
generals responsible for this massacre, was recently rewarded by being
appointed as second in command of Israel's Defense Ministry?  In 1982 Yaron
was Israel's Beirut forces commander and was responsible for allowing
Lebanese Phalangist troops to enter the camps, knowing that atrocities
would ensue.  Yaron not only watched over the bloody slaughter of civilians
for 2 days before moving to stem the killings, but his troops also aided
the Phalangists by providing illumination for nighttime manhunts and by
blocking the camps exits to prevent refugees from escaping.

A recent Policy Brief from the Center for Policy Analysis on Palestine
written by Francis Boyle reveals that "in his testimony to the Kahan
Commission [the official Israeli Commission of Inquiry into the massacre],
Yaron said he was 'happy' about the decision to send the Phalangist forces
into the refugee camps because 'the fighting serves their purposes as well,
so let them participate and not let the IDF do everything.'"

Amos Yaron was recently appointed as Director-General of Israel's Defense
Ministry by Prime Minister Ehud Barak, who himself retains the portfolio of
Minister of Defense.  Meanwhile, the US government has allocated $1.92
billion dollars of military aid to Israel in fiscal year 2000.  In so
doing, the US government is aiding and abetting the work of a war criminal.

Yaron is in DC today, meeting with the Washington defense establishment to
discuss potential US funding of any future Israeli withdrawal from the
Golan Heights.  According to the Israeli newspaper Ha'aretz, Israel is
going to request $10 billion in US aid.
It is IMPERATIVE that we bombard the US administration with letters of
protest, especially today, while Yaron is in the country.  PLEASE take a
moment to email Secretary of State Madeleine Albright at secretary@xxxxxxxxx

Yaron will be traveling often to the US and CESR will work with other
groups to plan protests and gain media coverage.  CESR will periodically
release information as part of an ongoing YARON WATCH.

Below please find a sample letter sent to the Secretary of State Albright.
Letters should also be sent to Secretary of Defense William Cohen and
Attorney General Janet Reno whose addresses are listed below.

December 17, 1999

Madeleine K. Albright
Secretary of State
United States Department of State
Washington, DC 20520

Dear Secretary Albright:

The Center for Economic and Social Rights (CESR) is outraged at the recent
appointment by Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak of former Major General
Amos Yaron to the position of Director-General of the Israeli Defense
Ministry.  Under the principles of the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949
(Articles 146 and 147) Yaron is a war-criminal, responsible for the murder
of more than 2,000 Palestinian and Lebanese civilians in the 1982 massacres
at Sabra and Shatila refugee camps in Beirut, Lebanon.  Yaron was
implicated for his role in the massacres by a 1983 Israeli Commission of
Inquiry.

As you know, in 1986 Yaron was nominated as the Israeli Military Attaché to
the US and Canada.  The Reagan administration delayed this appointment for
3 months due to heavy protests in the US but eventually accepted his Letter
of Accreditation.  Canada, however, refused the appointment.  Yaron left
this position after just a few months due to his "cool" reception in the US
(according to the Jerusalem Post) and later resigned his diplomatic
position "for reasons related to a lingering controversy" about his role in
the massacre (also according to the Jerusalem Post).

As you also know, Israel is due to receive $1.92 billion dollars in US
military aid in fiscal year 2000 (out of a total aid package to Israel of
$2.94 billion).  It is unconscionable that the US would disburse any
military aid to a Defense Ministry headed by a known war criminal.

CESR urges the US administration to:
· Call on Prime Minister Ehud Barak to rescind the appointment of Yaron for
Director-General of the Defense Ministry;
· Discontinue all military aid to Israel if Yaron's appointment is not
rescinded; and
· Adhere to its responsibility under international law and prosecute Yaron
for war crimes should he re-enter the US.

Thank you for your attention.

*******************

Other Addresses:

William S. Cohen
Secretary of Defense
1000 Defense Pentagon
Washington, DC 20301-1000

Janet Reno
Attorney General
US Department of Justice
950 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20530-0001





*****************
Lucy Mair
Middle East Program Coordinator
Center for Economic and Social Rights (CESR)
25 Ann St., 6th Floor
New York, NY 10038
Phone:  212-634-3424
Fax:  212-634-3425
Email:  rights@xxxxxxxx
Check out our website at http://www.cesr.org/





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