Two years on, committee on Shehadeh assassination yet to draw conclusions

Nearly two years ago, a committee was appointed to investigate Israel's assassination of Hamas leader Salah Shehadeh, but it has yet to draw any conclusions.

Shehadeh was killed in 2002, along with more than a dozen other people, when an Israel Air Forces plane dropped a one-ton bomb on his house.

The government panel was appointed in February 2008 following a High Court of Justice petition, and amid concerns that senior Israeli officials would be subject to arrest abroad. However, the committee's chairman, reserve brigadier general and former chief military advocate general Tzvi Inbar, died in August. No replacement was appointed, and the committee has no deadline for drawing conclusions.

The committee has heard testimony from several sources, including senior officials in the government, the Israel Defense Forces and the Shin Bet security service. It focused on the justifications for the assassination, and possible alternatives that could have limited harm to non-combatants.

The bombing killed Shehadeh's wife, daughter and one of his aides, along with 13 Palestinians living in surrounding buildings, seven of which were destroyed. About 100 people were injured in the attack.

The State Prosecutor's Office announced the committee was being set up, in order to remove a petition on the matter from the High Court's agenda. The petition was submitted by an activist from Yesh Gvul, a movement that advocates refusal to serve in the territories.

At that same time, criminal proceedings began in Spain against senior Israeli officials, including former defense minister Benjamin Ben-Eliezer and former chief of staff Moshe Ya'alon.

Spain recently agreed to stop the proceedings, in part due to the establishment of the probe.

Deputy attorney general Shai Nitzan recently reported to attorney Michael Sfard, who represents the petitioners, that the process of selecting a replacement committee chairman has begun.