Israelis suspect Lebanese killed 1,200 Palestinians

Israeli military sources suspect the Lebanese Army killed an estimated 1,200 Palestinians and destroyed the homes of 60,000 others after Israel's pullback from Beirut in late September, the Israeli newspaper Maariv reported.

In Beirut, observers tended to doubt the report, though they said there had been a roundup. Palestine Liberation Organization sources said the Lebanese Army picked up no more than 1,000 Palestinians in the sweep, most of whom have already been released. Maariv said the multinational peacekeeping forces knew about the operation but did nothing to stop it.