There was a most interesting reaction after this broadcast. Professor Richard Falk of Princeton University, who said that Ariel Sharon should be indicted as a
war criminal, further noted: I think there is no question in my mind that he is indictable for the kind of knowledge that he either had or should have had. Falk began to receive death threats after that statement. Shortly afterwards, his home and family were given police protection. Israel was once again attempting to silence people and prevent the truth from being told by means of violence, pressure, and threats. However, Falk stated in The Independent that his conscience was easy and that he had told the truth. After the program, debates began over whether or not Ariel Sharon could be
tried. Several international jurists joined in. However, these debates were an example of insincerity. The genocide of the Palestinians, which most states had ignored for more than half a century, was now being talked about 20 years after it happened. Those who had ignored it at the time, and those who made no effort to stop Israel, were behaving as if these massacres were being revealed for the very first time. In fact, this charge is not limited to Sharon but extends to Zionism itself, Israel's official ideology. It is enough to look at Israel's basic principles to see this, and to understand the philosophy behind the bloodshed at Sabra and Shatilla. Will Ariel Sharon Be Tried As A "War Criminal"? When the BBC program "The Accused" was aired, 28 Palestinians who survived the Sabra and Shatilla massacre sued Aried Sharon in Belgium so that he could be tried as a war criminal in Belgian courts. Belgium is one of the few countries whose law permits the trial of anyone who commits human rights violations in any country. The indictment sheds a great deal of light on Sharon's and Israel's bloody history. The indictment, which presents commission reports and research by important historians and writers as evidence, contains important information that Sharon knew about the massacre, that he supported those who carried it out, and even that he was working with them: Historians and journalists agree that it was probably during a meeting between Ariel Sharon and Bashir Gemayel in Bikfaya on 12 September <1982> that an agreement was concluded to authorise the "Lebanese forces" to "mop up" these Palestinian
camps. 1 The intention to send the Phalangist forces into West Beirut had already been announced by Mr Sharon on 9 July 1982 2, and in his biography (called "Warrior"), he confirms having negotiated the operation during his meeting with Bikfaya. 3 According to Ariel Sharon's 22 September 1982 declarations in the Knesset (Israeli parliament), the entry of the Phalangists into the refugee camps of Beirut was decided on Wednesday 15 September 1982 at 15.30.4 Also according to General Sharon, the Israeli commandant had received the following instruction: "The Tsahal forces are forbidden to enter the refugee camps. The 'mopping-up' of the camps will be carried out by the Phalanges or the Lebanese army." 5 At that point, General Drori telephoned Ariel Sharon and announced, "Our friends (the Phalangists) are advancing into the camps. We have coordinated their entry." Sharon replied, "Congratulations! Our friends' operation is approved." 6 (For the whole text of the indictment and detailed statements by the victims, see http://www.mallat.com/complaint.htm) The above details are only a part of the evidence revealing the relationship between Sharon and Gemayel. Sharon's autobiography, "Warrior," provides many more details of the massacre carried out by the Phalangists. In any case, the fact that Israeli soldiers did not enter a camp under their control for 3 days, that they did not know what was going on inside, while all the time preparing logistical support and bulldozers to open graves and demolish houses, means that the claim that they were" is false. HUMAN RIGHTS NEWS, 2.2003 BBC NEWS, 5.2002 LE MONDE, 28.6.01 Widely covered news reports in the foreign press reminded readers of what Sharon had done in the Sabra and Shatilla refugee camps. A report in Le Monde reported that "Sharon Feels the Heat from Belgian Justice Dept., Prepares Defense." The Washington Post, meanwhile, reported that debates over the massacres in the camps were being rekindled. CBS television also initiated a debate on whether or not Sharon would be tried as a "war criminal" after Milosevic.
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