"The guards heeded all the important rules and did everything they could to avoid the use of firearms."
The security guards of the Israel Consulate in Berlin heeded "all the important rules", when they opened fire on the Kurds who broke into the building, killing three of them. This emerges from the conclusions of an internal investigation by the Israel Embassy in Bonn.
"They took all the possible steps to avoid the use of firearms, and fired only when they saw that they were in grave danger. It was therefore legitimate self-defense," the report stated.
The Embassy added that the seventeen shots that were fired from two firearms were fired mostly into the air, or at the feet of the attackers, who were armed with various types of clubs. The guns, which were registered, were handed over to the German authorities for investigative purposes immediately following the incident.
For many hours, the guards answered detailed questions the Berlin authorities asked, following which they returned to Israel, "to avoid possible actions in retaliation".
Published by Israel's Business Arena February 25, 1999