The Spotlight Shifts to Begin

By Marguerite Johnson

He testifies about the massacre, and cuts short a U.S. trip

He had walked from his car, a black cane in his right hand, into the second-floor lecture hall on the campus of Jerusalem's Hebrew University. Taking his seat opposite the table where the panel would sit, he smiled, then rose respectfully when the three members of the commission entered the room. "My name is Begin, Menachem. My position, Prime Minister," he began. It was the first time an Israeli Prime Minister had ever appeared in public session before an official commission of inquiry, and the outcome could well have grave consequences for Begin and his government. At issue: What responsibility did the Israeli government have for the massacre that took place in the Palestinian refugee camps outside Beirut two months ago?

Soon after the hearing, Begin departed for what was to have been a ten-day trip to the U.S., culminating in a meeting with President Reagan at the White House this week. But just as he was about to address a Jewish group in Los Angeles on Saturday evening, Begin received word from Jerusalem that his wife of 43 years, Aliza, 62, had died. She had been suffering from complications of the respiratory system. Begin, who was very close to his wife, had postponed his trip to the U.S. several times in order to remain by her side. The fact that he should travel abroad at all, knowing that Aliza's health was failing, was an indication of how seriously he wanted to mend relations with the U.S. in the aftermath of the Israeli invasion of Lebanon.

The bad news came at the end of a week in which Begin had had more than his share of troubles. He had been severely criticized by the Israeli press following his appearance before the commission. His testimony, which took 47 minutes, was frequently contradictory; Begin appeared not to have reviewed documents pertaining to the events beforehand. He said he did not learn that the Christian militiamen had been allowed by Israeli occupation forces to enter the camps until a few hours afterward at a Cabinet meeting. He also insisted that no one in command had raised the possibility that the Phalangists would harm anyone but "terrorists." Said Begin: "Nobody conceived of the danger of acts of atrocity."

The members of the commission reminded Begin that the Phalangists had committed other massacres in the past. They also read from Cabinet minutes and other documents to show that the possibility of revenge killings by the militiamen in the aftermath of the assassination of President-elect Bashir Gemayel had been raised not only in Begin's presence but by the Prime Minister himself. He had, in fact, told U.S. Negotiator Morris Draper that the Israeli army had moved into West Beirut, in defiance of the agreement that had been negotiated for the evacuation of the Palestine Liberation Organization, "to prevent bloodshed."

Begin conceded that after Gemayel's murder he had realized "there were liable to be acts of vengeance by everyone." At that point Supreme Court Justice Aharon Barak asked the Prime Minister: "Under these circumstances, was there no reason to ask whether it is proper to approve the Phalangists' entry into the camps?" Replied Begin: "Your Honor, I can only repeat my previous statement, that in those days it did not occur to any of us that the Phalangists that were brought into those two camps would not fight the terrorists and the terrorists only."

Commission members read minutes of the Cabinet meeting that showed that both Deputy Prime Minister and Housing Minister David Levy and Chief of Staff Rafael Eitan had brought up the possibility of Phalangist acts of revenge. Indeed, Eitan had gone so far as to predict that "it will be an outburst the likes of which have not been seen. I already see in [the Phalangists'] eyes what they are waiting for." Adamant, Begin replied to the commission that "none of the ministers saw a red light go on." When asked when he had learned of the massacre, he said he had heard about it from a BBC broadcast Saturday evening. By that time the Phalangists had left the camps. All told, Begin's testimony was not a convincing performance.

Some White House officials had initially argued that Reagan should not see Begin at all, but the President decided that nothing was to be gained by allowing the estrangement to worsen. Relations between the U.S. and Israel have become increasingly acrimonious since Begin's last visit to Washington shortly after the Israeli invasion of Lebanon last June. On several occasions Reagan expressed anger when Israeli attacks appeared to undermine U.S. efforts to negotiate a cease-fire in Lebanon. Reagan was also disappointed by Begin's hasty rejection of a new U.S. peace proposal that calls for most of the Israeli-occupied West Bank to become a Palestinian entity associated with Jordan. Said an Israeli official on the eve of the ill-fated journey: "This will be a trip of reconciliation for the Prime Minister."

High on Begin's Washington agenda was an Israeli request for a foreign-aid package of more than $3 billion for 1983, up from $2.2 billion this year. To drum up support, Begin had planned to put his case before American Jewish organizations in Los Angeles, Dallas and Washington, D.C.

Reagan was expected to give Begin a firm outline of American views. The Administration feels that it must show Arab governments that the U.S. can and will use its influence to make Israel more flexible. Says a senior U.S. diplomat: "We have a clear credibility problem that has got to be overcome by demonstrating that the U.S. will take action, not just mouth words, to counter Israel's interests."

In Reagan's peace initiative last September, and again two weeks ago, Washington urged Begin to freeze, at least temporarily, the construction of all new settlements in the West Bank of the Jordan River. Says a U.S. expert: "There is general sentiment that the settlements are a direct challenge to the President and to the peace initiative, and the time has come for Reagan to reassert himself. Otherwise Begin will conclude that this Administration is a soft touch." At his press conference last week, Reagan said he would not threaten Israel with sanctions, but he declared that the settlements were "a hindrance to what we're trying to accomplish." Reagan also announced that he was dispatching Special Envoy Philip Habib back to the Middle East to help negotiate the withdrawal of all foreign forces from Lebanon.

In a related effort to regain authority over the fractured country, the Lebanese parliament granted wide-ranging emergency powers to Prime Minister Chafik al-Wazzan's new government. For six months, the government will be able to legislate without parliamentary approval on matters of national defense, internal security and reconstruction.

Meanwhile, an investigation continued into the cause of a powerful explosion that completely demolished the Israeli military headquarters in the coastal city of Tyre, in southern Lebanon. According to the Israeli military command, the blast killed 75 Israelis and 15 Arabs. At week's end two other explosions occurred in Beirut, leaving six dead and 18 wounded. The incidents underscored the urgency of gaining Menachem Begin's cooperation in restoring normality and stability to Lebanon.

--By Marguerite Johnson

Reported by Douglas Brew/Washington and Robert Slater/Jerusalem

With reporting by Douglas Brew, Robert Slater

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so viewer discretion is required.