The Israeli Supreme Court announced Monday that it upheld an earlier decision rejecting Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's libel suit against Tel-Aviv based Ha'aretz daily and its correspondent, Uzi Benziman, and ordered Sharon to pay the newspaper 15,000 New Israeli Shekels (about USD3,260) in legal expenses.
Sharon was appealing a Tel Aviv District Court decision that rejected his lawsuit over Benziman's article, which charged that Sharon had deceived then-prime minister Menahem Begin regarding his intentions during the 1982 Lebanon invasion.
Benziman wrote, "Menachem Begin was fully aware that Sharon had deceived him" over the course of the [1982] Lebanon invasion.
The judges declined to rule on the accuracy of Benziman's charge, which the district court judges had done, but decided he had written the article in good faith, according to The Jerusalem Post.
"Court isn't the place to decide historical truths," the judges wrote, adding that courts do not have the tools to address the factual issues Benziman raised.
On November 11, 1997, the district court ruled that the evidence indicated Benziman had written the truth and had written in good faith. (Albawaba.com)
© 2002 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
