ADC
Remembers Sabra and Shatila
Washington, DC | www.adc.org | September 16, 2014 -- Today
marks 32 years since the Sabra and Shatila massacre -- one of the
bloodiest and most brutal atrocities of our time. On September 16, 1982,
shortly after Israeli troops seized control of west Beirut, the
right-wing Lebanese militia forces operating under the direction of
Israeli forces massacred over one thousand defenseless men, women and
children in the Sabra and Shatila Palestinian refugee camps.
Israeli troops were in
full control of the area in which the Sabra and Shatila camps were
located during the massacre. They allowed the militias into the
camps, prevented refugees from fleeing for their lives, and lit the night
sky with a continuous series of flares as the killing raged for almost 3
days. The United Nations General Assembly condemned the massacre as
an act of genocide. The Israeli government‘s own commission of
inquiry into the affair, the Kahan Commission, found that Israel was
responsible for the massacre. Israeli commander Ariel Sharon
was forced to resign after the Kahan Commission concluded that he bore
personal responsibility for the massacre.
Despite the Kahan
Commission's findings, several senior Israeli officials who perpetrated
the massacre continued to hold high governmental and political posts in
Israel. Ariel Sharon directed the massacre in 1982, yet became Prime
Minister of Israel in 2001. Additionally, General Amos Yaron, the
commander of the Israeli occupying forces in the Lebanese capital of
Beirut during the massacre, went on to hold the office of
director-general of the Israeli Defense Ministry from 1999 until 2005.
The massacre remains a
painful memory in Palestinian history. Palestinians who survived
are still haunted by memories of the massacre. The wounds remain unhealed,
and justice remains unachieved.
Articles on Sabra and Shatila:
ADC | 1990 M Street NW, Suite 610 |
Washington, DC 20036 | (202) 244-2990 | adc@adc.org
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