P.L.O.’s man in London shot dead

Press, 6 January 1978, Page 5

P.L.O.’s man in London shot dead

NZPA-Reuter London Police protection for Arab and Israeli diplomats, in Britain has been strengthened because of the assassination in London on Wednesday of the Palestine: Liberation Organisation’s chief representative in Western Europe. Said Hammami, aged 36, was shot dead in his basement office at the Arab League building by a young man believed to be of Middle East origin, Commander James Neville, head of Britain’s police anti-ter-rorist squad, has said. He said that Mr Hammami, a close friend of the P.L.O. chief, Mr Yasser Arafat, had died, instantly, adding that his body had been found with a cigar still burning between his fingers.

No arrests have been made.

Within an hour of the shooting police Special Branch officers had begun checking passengers on flights to the Middle East from Heathrow Airport.

Police sources said the police diplomatic protection group had been ordered to mount special guards on the Israeli Embassy, Arab embassies and consulates, and Arab and Israeli airline and tourist offices.

The anti-terrorist squad was already investigating the deaths of two Syrian Embassy staff in London last Saturday after a bomb exploded in their parked car.

Commander Neville said there was no evidence so far to connect the two incidents, both in London’s fashionable Mayfair district. A n Iraqi Embassy spokesman has described as unfounded a report in the mass-circulation “Daily Express” that a squad of Iraqi-trained professional killers had arrived in London and that their targets were prominent Arabs supporting Egyptian peace moves with Israel. In an unsourced frontpage report the newspaper said Mi’ Hammami, a Palestinian moderate who had backed efforts to contact Israelis in search of a solution to Middle East problems, had telephoned the Syrian Ambassador (Mr Adnam Omran) to warn him that the assassins were in London.

The “Daily Express” quoted Mr Hammami as having told the ambassador: “Do please take every precaution. We know who they are, and we know you are a target.”

Mr Omran was unavailable yesterday to speak to reporters, embassy staff said. Commander Neville declined comment on the “Daily Express” report. Iraq is one of a group of Arab States which was strongly opposed President Sadat’s peace initiative with Israel.