IDF turns over 120 files concerning disappearance of Yemenite children to Knesset committee

The IDF transferred 120 files concerning the Yemenite children’s affair to the Knesset committee investigating the subject.The Special Committee for the Study of the Disappearance of Yemenite, Eastern and Balkan Children looked over the IDF archives on Sunday and saw hundreds of classified files which contained information about children living in transit camps and in hospitals managed by the IDF.Some families testified to the committee about alleged medical experiments that had been performed on their children.“It is not only important for families to know how and to whom the medical experiments were carried out, it is important for everyone – Israeli society is strong enough today to look at the terrible reality that was then,” said committee chair MK Nurit Koren (Likud). “I appreciate the IDF archives for their cooperation. The exposure of the materials will be a significant achievement for families who have been living in question for years.”A representative from the committee will also be allowed to inspect the IDF archives in files that have not yet been scanned to find information about children from Yemen, the Middle East and the Balkans who were in the transit camps and hospitals run by the IDF.“At the request of the committee, we scanned hundreds of files related to the Medical Corps, the Transit Camps Ordinance and others. We did a search with every possible word. All files are available to the committee for review and soon after the personal details are removed, they will even be revealed to the general public,” IDF Archive Director Ilana Alon said.The committee chair said that she would soon hold a Knesset discussion on the new documents that were discovered.