From: hernlem@chess.ncsu.EDU (Brad Hernlem)
Subject: Undercover Agents
Reply-To: hernlem@chess.ncsu.EDU (Brad Hernlem)
Organization: North Carolina State University
Date: Mon, 6 Apr 1992 17:21:35 GMT


PALESTINIANS ACCUSE ISRAELI ARMY UNDERCOVER AGENTS FOR "COLD-BLOODED" KILLINGS

OCCUPIED JERUSALEM, Sun. (AFP)

A growing number of Palestinians are accusing Israeli Army undercover
units of killing Arab suspects in cold blood, a charge denied by the
Israeli military which sees the force as an efficient deterrent to
anti-Israeli activity.

"You cannot kill somebody only becuase he is wanted. There is a law to
be respected," charged Faisal Husseini, an advisor to the Palestinian
team at Arab-Israeli peace talks.

Husseini last week accused the special units -- troops disguised as
Arabs -- of "executing instead of arresting" at least 18 Palestinian
suspects since December 9. His Arab Studies Center reported that 69 were
killed from January 1989 until December last year.

The army has denied the charges, blaming the increasing use of firearms
by Palestinians in the occupied territories for rising deaths among the
Palestinian population.  

The units were secretly set up in 1988, one year after the start of the
Palestinian uprising. Their existence was officially confirmed last June.

An army spokesman, who declined to be identified, told AFP that the
creation of the forces had contributed to an important reduction in the
number of regular troops and reservists deployed in the occupied territories.

"The special units will be reinforced in the next few months because of
the success of their mission," he said.

The spokesman said the units aimed their precision strikes at small
bands of militants, sparing the Palestinian population as a whole of
collective punishment.

These units, which work closely with Israel's Shin Bet Internal Security
Services, target armed Palestinian activiists responsible for keeping up
the momentum of the uprising.

The scenario is almost always the same: armed men wearing the
traditional Arab Keffiyeh or head scarf jump out of a civilian vehicle
and run after a Palestinian. Shots are fired and the Palestinian falls
to the ground.

In most cases the Army later reports that a Palestinian "wanted in
connection with terrorist activity" was shot and killed in clashes with
Israeli forces or while attempting to flee.

Another Army officer who also declined to be identified conceded that
the special units were in no way a "miracle weapon" against the uprising.

But he said their presence had forced the estimated several dozen
Palestinian "shock" groups to be on their guard.

The officer said that the militants' stronghold was in the Northern West
Bank town of Jenin, adding that the Army was "devoting all its energy there."

Army statistics themselves show, however, that the use of special units
has not led to a reduction in violence in the occupied territories,
where attacks with firearms doubled in 1991 compared to the previous year.

The number of Israelis killed in the occupied territories has likewise
increased, seven in 1991 compared to three in 1990. Four Israelis were
also killed since January, including for the first time ever, an
undercover agent.

.......

[Saudi Gazette, March 30, 1992]
Newsgroups: talk.politics.mideast