Zionists are fully aware of the enormity of the crimes they committed. Why should they hurry to bury the dead? The Sharon government believes that it can hide all traces of the horrible murders from international view by refusing access to a fact-finding mission appointed by United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan. Israel refused to obey the UN resolution No. 1405 because it was terrified by the prospect of the damaging revelations.
Kofi Annan, ever eager to prove his loyalty to Washington, disbanded the UN commission shortly before it was due to leave for Jenin. Simultaneously, the siege on Arafat was lifted in an apparent move to keep the Arabs quiet.
The price to drop the UN inquiry was the release of Arafat. This was part of a deal between the United States and Israel, according to Daliah Rabin, Israel’s deputy defense minister.
The Israeli and US efforts to bury the Jenin crimes underscore the responsibility of the international community to foil such efforts and bring the perpetrators to justice. Sharon has acted in clear violation of the Geneva Convention of 1949. The Article 146 of the convention guarantees full protection to civilians from an attacking force. The convention also stipulates that its signatories should take legal measures against any person violating this convention. Article 147 of the convention lists the culpable violations. The most serious is a deliberate murder.
The whole world knows that Israel has committed a most heinous crime, which it is frantically trying to cover up.
The irony of the situation is that Israel had invoked the provisions of the Geneva Conventions to prosecute several Nazi war criminals including Eichmann, who had gone hiding in Argentina. He was prosecuted in Israel though the crime was committed even before the state of Israel was founded. The Israeli Supreme Court had, then, justified its actions invoking the provisions of the Geneva Convention.
Prompted by the convention, several countries have incorporated provisions in their legal system to expand the jurisdiction of their courts beyond the borders of the country when crimes listed in the documents of the conventions are committed. A Belgian court has already taken steps to put Sharon and Gen. Amos Yaron on trial for their role in the Sabra and Shatilla massacres of 1982.
As the stipulations of the Geneva Convention on the war crimes are very clear, the attempts by Kofi Annan to help Sharon cover up the Jenin massacre will not succeed.
The Arab League is expected to set up a high-level commission of inquiry to prepare a detailed report on the massacre. The participation of the representatives of leading international human rights agencies should also be sought in the commission’s activities so that the report can be a powerful document potent enough to hold Sharon and his generals directly responsible and culpable for the massacre.
The Jenin massacre is one of the most horrendous crimes the Zionist terrorists have committed since they started their efforts to found a state in Palestine.
The prosecution of the masterminds of this massacre should not be viewed as an issue related to the Palestinians. On the other hand, it is to be treated as an essential move to protect the inviolability of the human rights the world over. The prosecution of the Jenin criminals is a must to maintain the credibility of any international law to protect human rights.
