Israel Thrice Rebuked

Surrounded by enemies, Israel takes its security seriously. Sometimes too seriously, as three official rebukes last week indicated. A two-member panel appointed by the Cabinet found the entire government responsible for the activities of Jonathan Jay Pollard, the American intelligence analyst sentenced this year by a U.S. court to life imprisonment as an Israeli spy. But the panel declined to single out any individual for culpability. A second investigation, conducted by a parliamentary intelligence subcommittee headed by former Foreign Minister Abba Eban, then pinned blame squarely on Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir, Foreign Minister Shimon Peres and Defense Minister Yitzhak Rabin. Peres, who received particular criticism for mishandling the case as Prime Minister in 1985 when Pollard was arrested, stated, "I have nothing to apologize for." U.S. Ambassador Thomas Pickering quickly made clear that Washington expects those involved in the spy scandal to be punished.

In a third setback for the government, the Supreme Court issued a ruling highly critical of Shin Bet, the domestic security service that only six months earlier had been cited for improprieties in the deaths of two Palestinian bus hijackers. The court ordered former Lieutenant Azat Napso, 32, released immediately from prison, where he had spent 7 1/2 years on espionage and treason charges that were brought by Shin Bet but later found to be unsubstantiated. The conviction was overturned because the agency employed illegal interrogation methods and lied about them to the military courts that originally tried Napso. Attorney General Yosef Harish has launched an investigation into these acts. The probe may result in criminal charges being leveled against eleven former and current Shin Bet agents. In the wake of the week's three adverse judgments, the Cabinet deliberated whether to begin its own probe, and Shamir pledged to increase supervision over all national security agencies.