Declassified documents revealed new details on the planned murder of Palestinian civilians during the Kafr Qasem massacre, when an Israeli commander advised troops that “it was desirable for there to be a number of fatalities,” aiming to push the citizens to leave for the Jordanian side of the border.
During a court session that took place several months after the massacre, one of the judges asked Officer Chaim Levy if what he heard was: “It is preferable to have deaths, or that there may be deaths?”
According to the trial transcripts of Chaim Levy, who commanded the Israeli army in Kafr Qasim, the troops knew their victims were unarmed civilians who had not been informed about the curfew.
He asserted: “Neither this nor that. The commander clearly said “it is desirable.”
Defense attorney Asher Yitzhak interrupted asking if the commander said not to kill, Levy replied that there was no difference between the two commands.
Kafr Qasim massacre took place in October 1956 when Israeli police killed dozens of Arab citizens on their way back home during a sudden curfew of which they were unaware.
Kafr Qasim is situated on the West Bank border and falls under the authority of Jordan. A curfew was imposed while farmers were working on their lands, a few kilometers away. When they reached the village, among whom were men, women and children, the Israeli forces shot them indiscriminately, killing 49 people, including eight women, a pregnant woman, and 18 children between the ages of 8 and 17 years.
A division of 11 soldiers of the Border Police opened fire, supervised by commander Issachar Shadmi. The orders were clear: “a strict curfew, not by arresting violators, but by shooting.”
The Israeli government, led by David Ben-Gurion, tried to hide the incident, but news of the massacre began to break.
Three weeks later, Arab Knesset member Youssef Khamis revealed preliminary details of the massacre in front of two KM from the Communist Party, who immediately visited Kafr Qasim to break the siege imposed on the area, and the soldiers assaulted them. But they managed to infiltrate through rough roads, and recounted what they saw to the public through word of mouth because of a gag order issued by Israeli army.
Arab citizens and their national leaders, along with a number of the forces of the communist left and the radical Zionist left demanded an investigation.
The government was forced to form a commission of inquiry. The committee reached a decision to transfer the commander of the unit and ten soldiers to court-martial.
The trial took place behind closed doors for nearly two years.
On October 16, 1958, the court issued various prison sentences against the soldiers involved ranging between 17 years to nine years in prison.
The chief of staff then reduced some of the sentences, and later a committee for the release of prisoners ordered a reduction of one-third of the term of each of the convicts. Thus, the last of them was released in early 1960.
Shadmi was brought to trial alone in early 1959, and his punishment was simple reprimand and a fine of one Israeli piaster.
Since then, the Israeli government has imposed a complete blackout on the protocols, and prevented their opening, claiming they contain “sensitive information that jeopardize state security.”
The documents were revealed after an appeal from Jewish historian Adam Raz, from the Institute for Studies "Akvot.
On Friday, the sealed documents were opened, and they revealed what is known as the "Mole" plan to displace the residents of the Little Triangle area to Jordan.
Shadmi admitted during the court that there is a connection between the plan and the Kafr Qasim massacre. This was also confirmed by the rest of the defendants.
Shadmi believed that killing a number of citizens will sow panic and terror among the citizens, and they will leave the town.
Several officers admitted that they discussed the possibility of occupying Jordan one day before the massacre, and therefore they were on alert.
In his testimony to the court, Levy said that the company commander told him clearly that he "wanted a number of deaths,” adding that despite human sentiment, war is war and the “Mole" plan warned of the danger of turning the Arabs into hostile citizens.
