Mordechai & Zamir Seeking Closure to Bus 300 Affair

The State of Israel has experienced many difficult episodes. The SHABAC Bus 300 affair is one of the most difficult of them because many governmental systems have miserably failed. The systems that received harsh criticism include: the Prime Minister, the forum of Prime Ministers, the Israeli government, the Knesset, the SHABAC, the police, large parts of the media, the Supreme Court, and the institution of the Presidency.

On April 12, 1984, four terrorists hijacked an Israeli bus on Line 300, from the Ashkelon area to Deir al-Balah in the Gaza Strip. Their plan was to hijack the bus and cross the border into Egypt. The next day, on April 13, 1984, Israeli security forces took control of the bus.
During the operation, two of the hijackers were shot and killed, along with a soldier passenger, Irit Portuges. Two of the hijackers were captured alive and taken for interrogation in a nearby field.

Contradictory reports about their fate followed. On April 15, 1984, foreign journalists first reported that two terrorists had been executed after they surrendered. This information was prohibited from publication in Israel. After the publication in Germany, it was also made public in Israel. The Legal Advisor to the Government, Yitzhak Zamir, requested Defense Minister Moshe (Misha) Arens to investigate. Arens first refused but subsequently conceded after the Head of the SHABAC, Abraham (Avrum) Shalom, told Prime Minister Itzhak Shamir that he had ordered the killing of the two terrorists according to the Defense Minister’s directive. On April 24, 1984, an investigation committee was established. The committee consisted of two people: Major General (Res.) Meir Zorea and a SHABAC representative Yossi Ginossar. Ginossar was a Trojan Horse in the committee, installed to obstruct justice. From then on, a major drama in the history of Israel began to unfold.

The issue at hand was the ordering of the killing of surrendered prisoners, without operational necessity, without a proper process, and without any visible justification. To save himself from investigation and possibly punishment, the person who gave the order, no less than the Head of the SHABAC Avrum Shalom instructed people from the SHABAC to deliberately provide false testimonies and thwart an investigation conducted by state authorities. He was willing to shift the blame to an innocent IDF officer, Yitzhak Mordechai, who could have paid a high price for no wrongdoing. Many people in Israel were willing to place people in the SHABAC above the law and ignore blatant corruption in the SHABAC: all are equal, but some are more equal, according to one criterion: cooperation in committing a crime in the name of security.

For more than a decade, I have been conducting research that includes in-depth interviews with several of the key figures involved. Most recently, I interviewed Yitzhak Mordechai. Mordechai described the events as if they happened yesterday. Clearly, this affair affected him deeply and left a deep scar on him. Mordechai expressed profound disappointment that, after it became clear that he was implicated in this affair, although he did nothing wrong, the Legal Advisor to the Government at that time, Yitzhak Zamir, did not apologise to him for recommending that Mordechai should stand trial.

I listened to Mordechai carefully and identified with his pain. His long testimony was honest and clear. After completing the interview and shutting off my tape recorder, I asked Mordechai whether he would be interested in meeting with Zamir. I felt that this affair requires closure for these two personalities. I have known Zamir since the early 1990s. He is a very honest man who, I was certain, did not wish to harm Mordechai. I thought it might be a good idea for both Mordechai and Zamir to meet and exchange views, listen to each other, explain each side’s viewpoint and clear the air between them. Both Zamir and Mordechai are men of values. Circumstances brought them to opposite sides of this sorry SHABAC affair. During the past forty years, they had never met. I thought maybe it was time for them to meet and iron out their disagreements. So I asked Mordechai whether he would be interested in meeting Zamir. If he was interested, I said I could try to arrange such a meeting.

Mordechai asked for time to think, and after a while, advised me that he was interested. Then I met Zamir, told him of my meeting with Mordechai and that he was interested in meeting with him. Zamir reflected, and after a while, also replied positively. Mordechai wanted that a public statement will be issued after the meeting. Together with Zamir, I drafted a statement that Mordechai accepted and confirmed. On March 31, the three of us met at Zamir’s home for a ninety-minute conversation during which the two personalities explained their conduct during the affair and came to certain understandings.

The following statement was issued:

Professor Yitzhak Zamir, who was the Attorney General of Israel, met on March 31, 2025, with former Defense Minister, Major General (Res.) Yitzhak Mordechai, who was the commander of security forces during the hijacking of the bus on Line 300 in 1984. During that meeting, the two figures reached an agreement to publish the following statement:

Yitzhak Mordechai was grievously wronged in the Line 300 affair. The Office of the Attorney General and the State Attorney’s Office were misled by the SHABAC, which attempted to shift responsibility for the deaths of the two terrorists who were captured alive. The SHABAC blinded the investigators and caused an accusing finger to be pointed at then-Brigadier General Mordechai. I, Yitzhak Zamir, personally regret the injustice caused to Brigadier General Mordechai. I understand his pain and empathise with him, as Brigadier General Mordechai acted properly in the Line 300 affair.

I felt that I did a mitzvah, a good deed, by arranging this meeting and providing the two men with closure. I thought it was needed. Better late than never, Mordechai and Zamir cleared the bad atmosphere that had tainted their relationships for a very long time.