PRESS RELEASE

Released @ 10.00 hours GMT 9th July 1997

Israeli Prime Minister has appointed Ehud Yatom as Assistant to his Advisor on Combating Terrorism in spite of the fact that he formerly confessed to carrying out the extra-judicial killing of two Palestinians.*

The Israeli Prime Minister, Benyamin Netanyahu has taken the decision to appoint Ehud Yatom to the position of Assistant to his Advisor on Combating Terrorism. Yatom is a former Israeli General Security Services (GSS) agent who, in an interview with Israeli newspaper Yediot Ahronot on 26th July 1996, confessed to carrying out the extra-judicial killing of Subhi and Majdi Abu Jamea, two Palestinians, who had been arrested for their involvement in the hijacking of an Israeli bus on 12th April 1984 (the so-called Bus 300 Affair).

On the 10th August 1996, Ehud Yatom was issued with a Presidential Pardon by the former Israeli President Haim Herzog, despite the fact that Yatom had provided false testimony before the committee which was established to investigate the Bus 300 Affair. In his confession, Yatom stated that in the hours following the capture of the two Palestinians he received an order to kill them from the head of the GSS Abraham Shalom, which he immediately carried out. He added that his actions in the Affair did not constitute a new precedent, as extra-legal and extra-judicial actions were often taken by the GSS, and that he had been trained to use such methods to defend the security of the state.

Following Yatom’s confession, the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights, acting as legal counsel for the families of the two victims, sent letters on 31st October 1996, to the Israeli Prime Minister, and the Ministers of Justice and Defence, demanding: firstly, that the file on the Bus 300 Affair be re-opened, secondly, that the Centre be issued with a copy of the Presidential Pardon for Yatom, and thirdly that all the facts relating to the affair be made public.

Almost two months later, the Centre received a letter in response, from the office of the Israeli General Prosecutor, which stated:

“Since Mr Yatom’s application for a pardon contained all actions leading to the death of the terrorists, the Presidential Pardon covers all such actions and he is therefore immune from punishment.”

Following receipt of this letter the Palestinian Centre issued a press release on 4th November 1996 in which we challenged its contents, and stating our view that the Israeli Government was attempting to relieve Yatom of responsibility for the illegal killing of the two Palestinians; and demanding that those responsible should be brought to justice, particularly Yatom, on the basis of this voluntary confession.

The Palestinian Centre would like to emphasise the following:

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  i. The appointment of Yatom to the post of Assistant Advisor in the Israeli Prime Minister’s administration further condones his criminal acts.

  ii. This appointment is a dangerous decision in the wake of Yatom’s confession. The Israeli Prime Minister rewarded him with impunity, legitimising his crime, which amounts to a grave breach of the IV Geneva Convention, (to which Israel is a Party). Yatom should be brought to trial, and should not be advising on state affairs.

  iii. Yatom’s appointment reflects the extent of the moral and legal decline in the current Israeli Government in its dealings with the Palestinian people. Following its legalisation of torture against Palestinians; this move reflects the Israeli Government policy of sanctioning extra-judicial and extra-legal acts against Palestinians.

  iv. Yatom has confessed to the extra-judicial killing and the Presidential Pardon does not deny that he perpetrated the crime. This raises questions about the rational behind his appointment and there are concerns about the impact it will have on the human rights situation and the will of the Israeli occupation autorities to respect the IV Geneva Convention, and for internationally accepted human rights norms and standards.

The Palestinian Centre would like to express its deep concern at the appointment of Yatom to this post and demands once again that the Israeli Government re-open the file on the Bus 300 Affair. Yatom must be brought to justice for the crimes that he has perpetrated against Palestinians.

The Palestinian Centre calls on the international community to:

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  i. provide protection for Palestinian civilian persons in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, particularly following Israel’s legalisation of torture, and this sanctioning of extra-judicial killing;

  ii. intervene to prevent further deterioration in Israel’s respect of fundamental human rights safeguards and norms, which worsen the dreadful conditions in which the Palestinian people in the OPTs live.

*See PCHR Special Report published on 3rd August 1996, which provides details of the Bus 300 Affair.