RAMALLAH, April 10, 2013 (WAFA) – Even though 65 years have passed since the massacre of Palestinians at the Jerusalem area village of Deir Yassin, the perpetrators still enjoy full impunity, a statement by the Negotiations Affairs Department (NAD) of the Palestine Liberation Organization said Wednesday.

“On April 9, 1948, Zionist gangs entered the Palestinian village of Deir Yassin in the Jerusalem district, killing 254 Palestinian villagers, mainly women, children and the elderly. There were documented cases of rape, mutilation and humiliation; the victims being mainly Palestinian women,” it said.

“Even before the withdrawal of British forces from Palestine in 1948, Palestinians throughout the country were subjected to widespread terror and horrific acts of violence at the hands of Zionist militias. Massacres and expulsions of Palestinians created an atmosphere of fear and panic that forced hundreds of thousands from their homes. They left behind land and personal possessions that were subsequently stolen by the State of Israel, sometimes out rightly and sometimes through ‘clever’ legislation,” added the statement.

The Deir Yassin massacre was led by Menachem Begin in his capacity as head of the Irgun terrorist forces, which were also responsible for several acts of terror, including the blowing up of the King David Hotel in Jerusalem. Supporting the Irgun was the Haganah, a group that went on to form the basis for the Israeli army, and the Lehi, led by Yitzhak Shamir.

“The criminals responsible for this horrific and bloody massacre enjoyed full impunity,” said the NAD statement.

“In fact, a few weeks after this tragic event, the man politically responsible for the Haganah (future Israeli army), David Ben Gurion, became Israel’s first prime minister. Even more astonishing is the fact that the head of the ‘operation’ at Deir Yassin, Menachem Begin, and Yitzhak Shamir, the leader of the Lehi who participated in the massacre, would also go on to become Israeli prime ministers,” it added.

M.S.