BETHLEHEM (Ma'an) -- On the 30th anniversary of the massacre of Palestinian refugees in Lebanon's Sabra and Shatila camp, a Palestinian official stressed that no one has been brought to justice.
"Those responsible for slaughtering thousands have not been punished and Palestinian refugees continue to be denied their homeland," PLO official Saeb Erekat said in a statement Sunday.
He urged the international community to ensure that the rights of Palestinian refugees to "return, restitution and compensation" are respected.
He continued: "In 1982, foreign reporters wrote: 'How many Sabras and how many Shatilas will be needed for the world to put an end to this injustice?' Since 1982, many Sabras and Shatilas have occurred and they all have the same components: blood and impunity."
The massacre took place after the Israeli invasion of Lebanon, when Christian Phalangist militias entered the Beirut camp under Israeli military watch to wreak retribution for the alleged assassination of their leader Bachir Gemayel.
Over three days, Palestinian refugees were killed in droves. At the time, the number of dead was estimated at 700, but eyewitness British reporter Robert Fisk says the number is closer to 1,700.
The Palestinian Red Crescent estimates that 3,000 civilians were killed.
Israeli soldiers in control of the perimeter of the camps did not stop the slaughter, firing flares overhead at night to aid the Phalangist gunmen.
An Israeli investigation found then defense minister Ariel Sharon guilty of failing to prevent the deaths of innocent civilians. He was demoted but later became Israeli prime minister.
The Phalangist leadership never apologized for their involvement in the massacre, one of the bloodiest events in Lebanon's 15-year civil war which claimed 150,000 lives.
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