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Al-Ahram Weekly 17 - 23 June 1999 Issue No. 434 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly 17 - 23 June 1999 Issue No. 434
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Culture Profile Features Living Travel Sports Time Out Chronicles People Cartoons Letters An Israeli hand?
By Zeina KhodrIt was a well-organised crime that shocked the nation. Two unidentified gunmen broke the windows of the ground floor courtroom in Sidon's Judicial Palace and sprayed the interior with bullets. Four judges, including the chief prosecutor for southern Lebanon, were killed, and five other people wounded, in what was described as the "bloodiest attack ever against the Lebanese judiciary".
No party has claimed responsibility for the slayings and the authorities have not so far arrested any suspects. While judicial officials are remaining tight-lipped about the results of their inquiries, the government is treating the case as a political crime.
"All I can say is that the crime was not motivated by a personal dispute," Prosecutor General Adnan Addoum said. "It was clearly an act of terrorism, an organised crime. The perpetrators aimed to kill the judges. Their target was the panel."
Police have ruled out any connection between the attackers and the cases that were being heard. Speculation is rife as to who may be behind the killings, with many officials pointing the finger at Israel, who they say "had most to gain from destabilising the security situation."
The slayings came a week after Israeli allied militiamen withdrew from the south Lebanon Jezzine enclave. Some 200 militiamen who stayed behind handed themselves over to the Lebanese authorities and are now facing trial on charges of treason.
President Emile Lahoud said Israel was "defeated by Lebanon's determination not to make concessions in the Middle East peace process". Beirut had refused Israeli demands to deploy its army in Jezzine after the pullout to prevent resistance attacks being launched from the enclave. The government also refused to provide assurances as to the fate of the militiamen who surrendered.
"The murder of the judges was carried out in parallel to the withdrawal in Jezzine," one analyst explained. "It was an attempt to force the Lebanese army's hand in its present predicament, and force it to subdue Israel's enemies."
The predicament in question is whether or not to send the army into the Palestinian camps. Since the end of the war in 1990, the army has spread out to cover the country's territory, except for the Israeli occupied south and the Palestinian camps. The Palestinians were not disarmed, but they were confined to the camps, where the various factions maintain law and order.
The government has now stepped up security in Sidon and tightened control around Ayn Al-Helweh, the largest Palestinian camp in the country. Judicial sources denied the measures meant there was evidence that the crime had been committed by Palestinians.
Security sources said the government did not want to apprehend the perpetrators by force "at this critical phase in regional politics".
Palestinian sources said the refugees were not opposed to the security measures taken around the camps. "We are ready to cooperate with the government in any way," the Palestinian Popular Committee said. "If there is evidence that the assailants are hiding there, all the factions will help the government take any measures necessary to apprehend them."
A statement issued in the name of all the Palestinian factions accused Mossad of carrying out the killings to destabilise the city of Sidon. "This is a crime which targets the security of the whole nation and there are Israeli fingerprints all over the attack," the statement said.
"The aim of the attack is to set the Lebanese government against the Palestinian refugees here," a political source was quoted as saying.
Sidon has been the scene of political crimes and security breaches in the past which have been blamed on intra-Palestinian disputes, and Ayn Al-Helweh is used by the armed factions opposed to Arafat as their base.
"Lebanon is sticking to its guns and is refusing to provide Israel with any security guarantees in the absence of a peace treaty," one commentator explained. "So Israel is trying to force the state to deal with armed Palestinians and thus get rid of the potential threat."
While observers say Lebanon is "aware of the trap" and will avoid any possible clash in the camps, the situation remains precarious and volatile. And according to one Palestinian source, the very fact that all the factions offered the state support -- even assistance to enter the camp to arrest the suspects -- means the desire to avoid a possible showdown is mutual.
