"There is no evidence that IDF knew what was to happen."
This is a blatant lie -there have been presented dozens of links on this thread of evidence containing reports not only of the Israelis knowing whet would happen, but of the authorities planning in advance the slaughter.
Have just finished a remarkable book (free download) entitled SABRA
& CHATILA - INQUIRY INTO A MASSACRE by Amnon Kapeliouk (a Jerusalem resident and a journalist for Le Monde, among other publications.
It has been obvious from the beginning of this discussion that all our resident fanatic wants is a blanket acceptance that "Israel didn't do it"
He continues to offer no evidence, but just unlinked denials of Israel's proven guilt
Jim Carroll   

Amnon Kapeliouk was born in Jerusalem. His father, Menachem, was a renowned Arabic scholar. Kapeliouk studied at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He held a PhD degree in Oriental Studies from Sorbonne University. His doctorate was on Israel's Christian Arab community. He began writing for the Israeli daily Al HaMishmar in the 1950s" and was a Journalist for Le Monde
He was a resident of Jerusalem until his death.
Quotes from his remarkable book entitled SABRA & CHATILA, INQUIRY INTO A MASSACRE by Amnon Kapeliouk, by far the most comprehensive account of the massacre.



Lieutenant Avi Grabowski, deputy commander of a tank company testified before the Kahan Commission that he witnessed the Phalangists kill civilians including women and children. Grabowski told the Commission that he confronted a Phalangist about killing pregnant women. The Phalangist answered that "pregnant women will give birth to terrorists." Israeli soldiers who reported Phalangist atrocities against civilians to their superiors were ordered not to interfere with what was happening in the camps and not to enter the area. When Grabowski reported what he saw to his superiors, his tank crew quoted the battalion commander saying: "We know, it's not to our liking, and don't interfere." (Final Report, p. 35).

"Access to the camp was blocked by Israeli soldiers, who repeatedly ordered fleeing refugees to turn back. The most striking example was a group of 500 refugees who found shelter within the walls of Gaza Hospital in Sabra. During the afternoon, the crowd made their escape when they learned that the militiamen were killing, injuring, and raping everyone in the hospitals. Brandishing white flags, the hapless crowd reached Corniche el-Mazra'a, the road that intersects the capital from east to west. They were then stopped by Israeli soldiers. A spokesman for the group explained to the soldiers that Sa'ad Haddad's men were murdering civilians. Nevertheless, they were ordered to return to the camp. When they hesitated, an Israeli tank chased the people a few hundred feet back toward the camps." (New York Times, September 26, 1982)."

"At daybreak, Israeli officers and soldiers stood at their observation post and watched with binoculars what was happening inside the Shatila camp. They observed the piles of bodies and the men being lined up for execution. Soldiers from an armored unit stationed 100 meters from the camp, and once commanded by Colonel Eli Geva prior to his resignation, stated that they were able to clearly witness the execution of civilians by the militiamen that Friday morning. Their report was dispatched to senior officers who received identical accounts from other Israeli soldiers and officers stationed near the camps. Israeli soldiers also confirmed that they heard screaming refugees being slaughtered while attempting to save their own lives. The Israelis were also briefed by the Phalangists themselves, who occasionally sought food and fresh water from the encampments and roadblocks set up by the Israeli Army around Shatila. They described "combat" developments inside the camps, making no attempt to conceal the fact "that there were also civilians among the dead."