Glatstein's testimony
indicates that Prime
Minister Rabin could not
have been shot by Amir.
The Testimony of Chief Lieutenant Baruch Glatstein
by Barry Chamish
Special to ParaScope
chamish@netmedia.net.il
Everyone who saw the "amateur" film of the assassination of Yitzhak Rabin witnessed the alleged murderer Yigal Amir shoot the prime minister from a good five feet behind him. The conclusion of the Shamgar Commission, which investigated the assassination for the government, concluded that Amir shot Rabin once from a distance of a meter and a half and again while standing a meter above him.
But what if it were determined that the shots that killed Rabin were fired at point blank range from a distance of only 25 centimeters? Obviously, if so, Amir couldn't have shot them.
Now consider the testimony of Chief Lieutenant Baruch Glatstein of Israel Police's Forensics Laboratory, given at the trial of Yigal Amir on January 28, 1996.
Glatstein: "I serve in the Israel Police Forensics and Materials Laboratory. I presented my professional findings in a summation registered as Report 39/T after being asked to test the clothing of Yitzhak Rabin and his bodyguard Yoram Rubin with the aim of determing the range of the shots.
"I would like to say a few words of explanation before presenting my findings. We reach our conclusions after testing materials microscopically, photographically and through sensitive chemical and technical procedures. After being shot, particles from the cartridge are expelled through the barrel. They include remains of burnt carbon, lead, copper and other metals...
"The greater the distance of the shot, the less the concentration of the particles and the more they are spread out. At point blank range, there is another phenomenon, a characteristic tearing of the clothing and abundance of gunpowder caused by the gases of the cartridge having nowhere to escape. Even if the shot is from a centimeter, two or three you won't see the tearing and abundance of gunpowder. These are evident only from point blank shots.
"To further estimate range, we shoot the same bullets, from the suspected weapon under the same circumstances. On 5/11/96, I received the prime minister's jacket, shirt and undershirt as well as the clothes of the bodyguard Yoram Rubin including his jacket, shirt and undershirt. In the upper section of the prime minister's jacket I found a bullet hole to the right of the seam, which according to my testing of the spread of gunpowder was caused by a shot from less than 25 centimeters' range. The same conclusion was reached after testing the shirt and undershirt.
"The second bullet hole was found on the bottom left hand side of the jacket. It was characterized by a massed abundance of gunpowder, a large quantity of lead and a 6 centimeter tear, all the characteristics of a point blank shot."
[The author rudely interrupts lest anyone miss the significance of the testimony. Chief Lieutenant Glatstein testified that the gun which killed Rabin was shot first at a range of less than 25 centimeters, and then with the barrel placed on his skin. If the assassination film is to be believed, Amir never had a point blank shot at Rabin, not even close. As dramatic a conclusion as this is, Officer Glatstein isn't through. Far from it.]
"As to the lower bullet hole, according to the powder and lead formations and the fact that a secondary hole was found atop the main entry hole, it is highly likely that the prime minister was shot while bending over. The angle was from above to below. I have photographs to illustrate my conclusions."
[The court was shown photographs of Rabin's clothing. According to the Shamgar Commission findings, Rabin was first shot standing up and then while prone on the ground, covered by Yoram Rubin's body. Nowhere else but in Glatstein's expert testimony is there so much as a hint that he was shot while in a bent-over position.]
"After examining the bullet hole in the sleeve of Yoram Rubin, I determined that the presence of copper and lead, plus the collection of gunpowder leads to the likelihood that he, too, was shot from near point blank range... The presence of copper means the bullet used to shoot Rubin was different from that found in the prime minister's clothing which was composed entirely of lead. The bullet that was shot at Rubin was never found."
[We now enter the realms of the bizarre, which was usually the case when Yigal Amir chose to cross-examine a witness. Chief Lieutenant Glatstein provided the proof that Amir did not shoot the bullets that killed Rabin, yet Amir is determined to undermine the testimony.]
Amir: "According to your testimony, I placed the gun right on his back."
Glatstein: "You placed the gun on his back on the second shot and fired."
Amir: "And the first shot was from 50 centimeters?"
Glatstein: "Less than 20 centimeters."
Amir: "If one takes into account that there is more gunpowder from the barrel, then the muzzle blast should also increase."
Glatstein: "To solve this problem, I shoot the same ammunition, and in your case, from the same gun, I shot the Baretta 9 mm weapon with hollowpoint bullets into the prime minister's jacket."
Amir: "When I took the first shot, I saw a very unusual blast."
[At this point, Amir was close to realizing, finally, that he shot a blank bullet -- but he blew his case when he concluded, "We need a new expert because I didn't shoot from point blank range."]
Away all talk about "far-right conspiracy nut theories." The Forensics Laboratory of the Israeli Police concluded that Rabin was shot from less than 20 centimeters and at point blank range, no matter what Amir says. Furthermore, the bodyguard Yoram Rubin was shot by a different type of bullet than the ones which felled Rabin or were found in Amir's clip. Unless Israel Police's forensics expert is deliberately promoting "far-right, conspiracy nut theories," Yigal Amir did not murder Yitzhak Rabin with his own weapon.
______________
Barry Chamish is the editor of Inside Israel, a political intelligence report on Israeli affairs. He can be reached at:
Phone/Fax : (972)-2-9914936
E-Mail: chamish@netmedia.net.il
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