Hebron Killings Report Exonerates Top Officials

JERUSALEM -- The Israeli commission that investigated the Hebron mosque massacre has concluded that militant Jewish settler Baruch Goldstein "acted alone" in killing 29 Moslem worshipers at the Tomb of the Patriarchs earlier this year. In a 350-page report released Sunday that appears likely to spark further debate, the five-man commission did not recommend disciplinary action against anyone. The panel said no one can be blamed for having failed to foresee such a massacre, a conclusion hailed by Israeli government ministers who had feared the commission would demand action against high-ranking officials. But Hebron Mayor Mustafa Natshe took issue with the conclusion that Goldstein alone was responsible. "The atmosphere in the mosque in the period before the massacre, the harassment (by) the settlers during the Moslem prayers, has created the atmosphere that helped Goldstein to go and commit his crime," he said. The panel said it was "an unfortunate coincidence" that not all the security forces were on duty when the massacre occurred. But it criticized what it described as lax discipline and malfunctioning security systems at the site, which have long been points of friction between Jewish and Moslem worshipers. The panel did not tackle broad issues raised in the aftermath of the massacre, such as whether Jewish settlers should continue to reside in the middle of predominantly Arab Hebron, which is in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. The panel focused on details of the crime and prevention of future attacks. It called for a new security arrangement at the tomb, including separate worship areas for Moslems and Jews; creation of a special police unit for the tomb; and a ban on civilians carrying weapons. Until the massacre, Jewish worshipers were permitted to carry their guns into the halls, as Goldstein did without resistance or questioning by security forces. The panel did find, however, that Israeli law enforcement had all but broken down in the occupied territories when it came to investigating Arab complaints against Jewish settlers and Jewish complaints of Arab violence. The panel said there was "a sort of voluntary abdication of effective control on the ground" by the Israeli authorities.