TEL AVIV, Sept. 29 - Defense
Minister Ariel Sharon said today that information
obtained so far by Israel pointed to Syrian involvement
in the assassination of Bashir Gemayel on Sept. 14, nine
days before he was to be inaugurated as Lebanon's
president.
..Mr. Sharon
said Lebanese also apparently had a hand in the explosion
at the Phalange Party headquarters in Beirut. Mr. Gemayel
and a score of other Phalangists were killed in the blast.
..Another
Israeli source with ties to the military said the
Lebanese involved were believed to be Phalangists who
knew the layout of the building and had intimate details
of Mr. Gemayel's schedule. .....Highly
Trained Professionals
..The use of
a huge explosive charge, apparently detonated by remote
control, seemed to indicate that highly trained
professionals were responsible, , the Israeli source said.
Mr. Sharon made no mention of Soviet involvement.
..The Defense
Minister made the accusation about the Syrians on a
French radio interview program recorded in Tel Aviv.
.."We do
not know who killed Bashir Gemayel," he said in an
answer to a question. "But as far as we know by now,
it should be in a way connected with the Syrians and some
local Lebanese, but connected with the Syrians. That's
what we know now."
.............On The
Defensive
..Mr. Sharon
was on the defensive about the Beirut massacre during
much of the interview, which was conducted by a panel of
journalists. The program was scheduled to be broadcast
tonight on the station Europe 1.
..Mr. Sharon's
appearance on the program caused considerable controversy
in France, where Israel has been excoriated for its role
in Lebanon.
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Some of the interviewers,
mosly French editors and commentators, said friends had
asked them how they could agree to see Mr. Sharon. "Would
you see Eichmann or Hitler?" some were reportedly
asked.
René Andrieu, editor of the ..Communist
paper L'Humanité, turned down an invitation to be on the
program. He published a statement saying that it would be
indecent to speak with Mr. Sharon. Pierre Juquin, a
member of the Communist Politburo, condemned Europe 1 for
the broadcast and threatened street demonstrations.
.........Many
Harsh Questions
..Much of the
questioning was harsh, and Mr. Sharon replied in a
polemical tone. He accused the French press of being one-sided
in its reporting on Israel. And he accused France and the
rest of the world of indifference towards Lebanon's
Christians during the years of massacres and persecutions.
.."More
than 100,000 people were killed, mostly Christians, and
more than 300,000 people were wounded, and again most of
them Christians," he said. "And no one, no one
in the world, no one - not France, not Italy, not the
Pope, not the Americans, no one came to their rescue, no
one.
..Mr. Sharon
said he was happy to see French helicopters in Beirut now,
but he added that France had not sent aircraft to help
the wounded "in those dark days of the massacres
against the Christians in Lebanon."
.."But
our pilots, our boys came," he said, "We did,
we helped, We gave medical care. We gave other help. And
if the Christians in Lebanon exist, it is only due to one
factor. It is the fact that Israel, being also a small
nation, is very sensitive to the fate of minorities, came
to their rescue. No one in the world, not only did not
help them, not only did not send weapons to them, nobody
in the world said a word about that since 1975 until 1982."
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..Mr. Sharon
said he welcomed the judicial investigation of the
massacre at the Sabra and Shatila Palestinian refugee
camps in Beirut. The Israeli cabinet decided Tuesday to
hold the inquiry.
..At one
point in the interview, the defense minister seemed to
hint that he might resign if the judicial commission
found that any Israelis were to blame for the massacre.
...'The
Necessary Personal Decision'
.."I
hope that no one will be found guilty," he said.
"But if anyone is found guilty, I will take upon
myself the responsibility. I will not hesitate even for
one minute to take the necessary personal decision when
we learn what happened there."
..Prime
Minister Menachim Begin, appearing at a closed session of
Parliament's Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, said
that as head of the government he would shoulder whatever
responsibility Israel should bear, according to the army
radio.
..A special
session of Parliament, originally called for Thursday to
discuss Mr. Sharon's behavior, was canceled when the
Speaker ruled that the opposition Labor Party could not
discuss the possibility of the Defense Minister's
resignation.
..The Speaker
ruled that a debate about Mr. Sharon would be tantamount
to a motion of no- confidence in the Government, and such
a motion could be introduced only in a regular session of
Parliament.
..Prime
Minister Begin formally requested a judicial inquiry into
the Beirut massacre. Mr. Begin asked the President of the
Israeli Supreme Court, Yitzhak Kahan, to name a three-member
panel to conduct the investigation.
..The Israeli
radio said Justice Kahan had promised to appoint a
committee by the end of the week. At least one of the
members must be a Supreme Court justice, and it is widely
believed that Justice Kahan will head the panel.
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