Saleh Al-Na'ami, a senior political commentator for the Hamas weekly, Al-Risala, related in its latest issue to the BBC/Panorama program about Sharon. Contrary to the consensus in the Arab media, Al-Na'ami states that the BBC demand to prosecute Ariel Sharon as a war criminal is hypocritical and that Syria and the heads of the Christian Lebanese forces are the ones responsible for the massacre at Sabra and Shatila. Following are excerpts from his column, courtesy of the Middle East Media Research Institute:
"...there is a certain degree of hypocrisy in the Arab coverage of the Sabra and Shatila massacres!!!!! It is true that Sharon bears responsibility for these massacres, but the people who committed these war crimes with their own hands, were never tried."
"Moreover, Eli Hbeika who was head of security in the Lebanese Forces when they committed these massacres and who supervised the mass-killings and the rapes, boasted in the [BBC] film itself that he was never, nor will he ever be tried, and that he lives completely free. The same goes for Fadi Afram, the commander of the Lebanese Forces, who had an actual role in committing the massacres."
"We ask once again the question we have been asking always: Who is protecting Eli Hbeika now, when nobody disputes his responsibility for these massacres? The answer is: The Syrian government who rewarded him two years after the massacre, by appointing him as a minister in the Lebanese government. The Syrian rulers, and first and foremost Bashar Al-Assad, should prove their commitment to the Palestinian cause before they fill the air with their slogans about it."
"Indeed, it is hypocritical to attack Sharon for his part in the Sabra and Shatila massacre, without demanding from Syria and from the Lebanese government to demonstrate minimal commitment towards the Palestinian people and allow the prosecution of the real war criminals - Hbeika and the gang of lowlifes that surrounded him at the time."
"...there is a certain degree of hypocrisy in the Arab coverage of the Sabra and Shatila massacres!!!!! It is true that Sharon bears responsibility for these massacres, but the people who committed these war crimes with their own hands, were never tried."
"Moreover, Eli Hbeika who was head of security in the Lebanese Forces when they committed these massacres and who supervised the mass-killings and the rapes, boasted in the [BBC] film itself that he was never, nor will he ever be tried, and that he lives completely free. The same goes for Fadi Afram, the commander of the Lebanese Forces, who had an actual role in committing the massacres."
"We ask once again the question we have been asking always: Who is protecting Eli Hbeika now, when nobody disputes his responsibility for these massacres? The answer is: The Syrian government who rewarded him two years after the massacre, by appointing him as a minister in the Lebanese government. The Syrian rulers, and first and foremost Bashar Al-Assad, should prove their commitment to the Palestinian cause before they fill the air with their slogans about it."
"Indeed, it is hypocritical to attack Sharon for his part in the Sabra and Shatila massacre, without demanding from Syria and from the Lebanese government to demonstrate minimal commitment towards the Palestinian people and allow the prosecution of the real war criminals - Hbeika and the gang of lowlifes that surrounded him at the time."