Free passage offer to jet hijackers
jZPA-Reuter Larnaca. Cyprus The Cyprus Government has promised a ree passage out of the country to the three hijackers of a Dutch KLM jet airliner after the men released their 83 hostages at the end of a day of drama and suspense.
The three men, identified as Palestinians, finally surrendered the DC9 and then hostages at Larnaca airfield on Sunday after a journey that took the twin-engined jet from the original hijack point near Nice, France, to Tunis, to Larnaca, into Israeli airspace, and back to Larnaca, where it landed with no fuel left to spare. The hijackers, who announced they wanted to fly to Tel Aviv to demand the release of eight proPalestinian prisoners from Israeli gaols, twice threatened to blow up the jet in mid-air. They were turned back from Israel by Israeli Air Force Phantom fighters.
The Israeli Government later hailed the hijackers’ capitulation as a vindication of its policy of not dealing with guerrillas.
When the DC9 eventually’ returned to Larnaca it had only enough fuel for one circuit of the airfield before landing. Royal Air Force rescue helicopters stood by
in case it landed in the sea. Once the jet was back in Larnaca, a series oi lengthy negr tiations began between the hijackers and a group including the Cyprus Minister of Communications (Mr George Tombassas), the Dutch Ambassador (Mr Herman Jorrissen), and unidentified representatives of the Palestine Liberatio- Organisation and the Libyan Embassy.
Initially, the hijackers refused to give in, saying, according to airport officials, “We are soldiers, we must obey our orders.”
At one point they demanded to fly to Tripoli, in Libya but a message from the Libyan Prime Minister (Major Abdel Sala • Jalloud) was received saying on no account would th. Dutch jet be allowed to land.
Eventually the Dutch Ambassador announced that the three hijackers had agreed to release their hostages in return for a promise of safe conduct out of Cyprus to a country' of their choice.
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Press, 7 September 1976, Page 8
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334Free passage offer to jet hijackers Press, 7 September 1976, Page 8
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