Press Releases

For Immediate Release

September 16 commemorates the 1982 Sabra and Shatila massacre, the day almost a quarter of a century ago, when up to 3,500 civilians, mainly Palestinian refugees, died in Beirut, Lebanon refugee camps.

In 1982, Ariel Sharon was Defense Minister of Israel. An Israeli commission of inquiry found that he and other Israelis were responsible for the massacre. Now Ariel Sharon is Prime Minister of Israel.

Under the Universal Jurisdiction Law of Belgium, Ariel Sharon was charged in relation to the Sabra and Shatila massacre. The case failed when Belgium was forced to abandon its law through U.S. and other pressure. The law simply put Belgian law into agreement with the Geneva Conventions something expected from every state that is a signatory to the Conventions. The Geneva Conventions call for prosecution or extradition of anyone guilty of crimes against humanity. Among others, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have supported the concept of universal jurisdiction.

Others who had a role in the massacre remain in positions of power both in Israel and Lebanon.

Things haven’t changed much for the Palestinians. Inquiries into the massacre were not released. Most massacre perpetrators remain at large. Nothing has been done to compensate the victims.

The killing with impunity continues, especially for Palestinians. In the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip more than 3,100 Palestinians have been killed by the Israeli military and Israel settlers in the past four years. In the same period almost 1,000 Israeli civilians and members of the Israeli security forces have been killed by Palestinians.

Palestinian refugees in Lebanon remain unable to own land and are barred from more than 70 types of work. The Palestinians of West Bank and Gaza remain locked in a land which is growing smaller by the day with illegal takeovers of land and the building of the wall by Israel.

All Palestinians who lost their homes in 1948 and through the years because of Israeli actions have been denied the right of return.

Some say the world changed on September 11, 2001 but on 16 September, 22 years after the Sabra and Shatila massacre, not much has changed for the Palestinians.