(1) failure by Israel to exercise due diligence and to take all reasonable measures for the prevention of the murder;
(2) liability of the Israeli government for acts committed by irregular forces in territory under its control; and
(3) failure by Israel to take all measures required by public international law to bring the perpetrators to justice.
In June 1950 the Israeli government, without formal admission of liability, paid the claim. The payment was accompanied by a letter from the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Israel, addressed to the Secretary-General of the United Nations, which stated that Israel sincerely regretted that “this dastardly assassination” had taken place on Israeli territory.
2. The “behind the scenes” nature of diplomatic settlement of international disputes is illustrated by the following examples:
. In 1988 a United States warship, USS Vincennes, operating in the Persian Gulf, shot down an unarmed civilian airliner operated by Iran Air killing all 290 persons on board. In 1996 the United States State Department announced that the United States and Iran had settled Iran’s claims arising out of this incident, such settlement involving substantial payment by the United States to the survivors of each victim. See 90 AJIL 278 (1996).
. In May 1999 during an eleven week air campaign against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, United States military aircraft operating under NATO command bombed, in
error, the Chinese Embassy in Belgrade, killing three Chinese nationals and wounding twenty others. On 30 July 1999 the United States and China reached agreement for the payment of compensation by the United States to the families of the persons killed and to the persons injured in this incident. Subsequently agreement was reached on the payment of compensation for property damage