Senator Joseph R. Biden, Jr.
Washington -- Events in the Middle East are moving very rapidly—so quickly that truth sometimes can’t keep pace with perceptions.
For the past few weeks we’ve been hearing sensationalist claims of a massacre in the Jenin refugee camp in the Palestinian territories of the West Bank. But in recent days hundreds of reporters have descended on the camp, and not one has verified these claims. In fact, just days ago a senior official in Yasser Arafat’s Fatah movement in Jenin was quoted as saying the death toll stands at 56. Most of them were armed fighters.
The death of even one innocent civilian is one too many, and there’s still considerable excavation work to do in the camp. But we should acknowledge that the public relations campaign mounted to convince the world of a massacre in Jenin was a politically motivated lie. There are not 500 dead civilians, as Palestinians initially claimed.
What happened in Jenin was an intense battle fought at close quarters in which 23 Israeli soldiers also lost their lives. The relatively high number of Israeli casualties is itself an indicator of what went on in the camp. Had the Israelis chosen, they could have easily pummeled the camp from afar and starved the terrorists out. Instead, they chose to do things the hard way, house to house—in part to avoid civilian casualties, not to inflict them.
Were there civilian casualties? Almost certainly. But there is a world of difference between deliberately targeting civilians and the unintentional and inevitable casualties that were bound to occur in Jenin, where terrorists deliberately hid themselves among civilians.
That is the picture I believe will emerge as the facts are examined in the cold light of day.
Last week there also was considerable discussion about the UN fact-finding panel assembled by Secretary General Kofi Annan. The UN leadership had the best of intentions. But Israel voiced legitimate concerns about the composition, procedures, and terms of reference of this team. It’s hard to blame Israel for having its doubts about the objectivity of the fact-finding team. It argues, with justification, that the events in Jenin must be seen in their proper context, and Israelis voiced concerns over the lack of adequate representation of counter-terrorism and military experts on the team.
Israel didn’t invade Jenin on a whim; it did so to destroy the terrorist infrastructure, and only after the Palestinian Authority refused to carry out its obligations to do so. According to the Israeli government—and the Palestinian terrorist organizations that proudly took credit—23 suicide bombers came from Jenin. These 23 were responsible for the deaths of 57 Israelis and the injury of 1000 more.
It is fair to ask the United Nations what its officials were saying to the Palestinian Authority about the use of a UN-run camp as a launching pad for terrorism. Palestinians in Jenin don’t deny that bomb factories functioned there. To many Israelis, it appears as if the UN turned a blind eye to Palestinian terrorism, yet seems intent on smearing Israel for its legitimate response to that terror.
Nonetheless, Israel hasn’t rejected the UN team. Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres said in a letter to Secretary of State Colin Powell that the team should "examine the Palestinian terrorist infrastructure and activity in the camp and emanating from it which necessitated Israel’s military actions. In so doing, the Team will bear in mind the relevant elements of international law, including the right of self-defense and the obligation to prevent terrorism."
Peres goes on to say "in accordance with the fact-finding nature of the team, its work should be submitted as facts only, and not observations. This is a vital concern for Israel in order to avoid abuse and misuse of the work of the Team for political purposes." He adds "Israel understands that requests for interviews with public servants, past or present, or documents, will be made through the government of Israel." Peres says Israel will "carefully consider these requests," but reserves the right "to make final determinations regarding availability to the Team. This sovereign discretion is mandated by Israeli law."
If the real UN mission is to seek the truth, these requests appear entirely reasonable. Would any other democratic country behave differently than Israel? Would any Arab country ever be subjected to a similar fact-finding investigation in the first place? Perhaps the false cries of massacre coming from Arab circles are a reflection of what many have come to expect from their own governments.
Did any UN fact-finding team ever investigate the Syrian massacre of up to 20,000 civilians in the city of Hama in 1982? Was the international press corps ever able to conduct their own investigations there as they have in Jenin? Was there ever a UN investigation of the genocidal Anfal campaign launched by Saddam Hussein against the Kurds in the late 1980s?
Fair-minded observers must conclude there is a double standard when it comes to Israel.
Many of today’s critics know that Israel holds itself to a higher standard. Many Israelis have raised questions about the military operation in Jenin, including allegations of disproportionate use of force and the denial of medical and humanitarian access. In fact, a leading Israeli newspaper editorialized recently that the army should conduct an internal investigation about possible gratuitous vandalism and destruction of property.
How many Arab countries have a capacity for such self-examination? How many Arab countries have a Supreme Court that would intervene to prevent the Army from removing bodies in Jenin, as did the Israeli Supreme Court?
I believe we have an obligation to examine the facts before we jump to conclusions. Based on reports now coming from Jenin, it appears that far too many reached conclusions before they had the facts.
In the end, some may choose to cling to myths to perpetuate hatred and conflict. Some prefer to live in the realm of fiction than deal with cold, hard facts. But the rest of us shouldn’t engage in such self-delusion.
If my reading of the facts is correct, in the coming days we will see Jenin as the massacre that never was.
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Joseph R. Biden, Jr., (D-DE) is chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.