Israeli troops end bus hijack

Press, 14 April 1984, Page 11

Israeli troops end bus hijack

NZPA-Reuter Rafah, Gaza Strip Israeli troops stormed a hijacked bus just before dawn yesterday (local time) and freed about 30 passengers held hostage by Arab guerrillas for 10 hours. Shots were heard as Israeli troops raced towards the single-decker bus and a blinding flash lit up the sky. A soldier who took part in the operation said that three Arab guerrillas aboard the bus had been killed. That was confirmed by military officials in Tel Aviv. Two Israeli soldiers had been slightly wounded in the rescue near the desert town of Rafah, on the Egyptian frontier, officials said. Dazed passengers were seen being led away by jubilant soldiers, who patted

each other on the back. One middle-aged woman sat, head in hands, and shook uncontrollably. Seven or eight wounded passengers were laid out on stretchers near the bus, which was parked near an olive grove. Most appeared to be suffering from shock and were later ferried away by helicopters. The bus was hijacked on a regular run from Tel Aviv to the Mediterranean town of Ashkelon. It raced towards the Egyptian frontier, chased for 40km by Israelis firing guns, and was eventually halted and surrounded. One of the freed passengers said that the hijacking had begun when one of four guerrillas brandished a hand-grenade at the driver and demanded, “Take us to Rafah.”

The hijacker had spoken in Hebrew with an Arabic accent, the passenger said. “They treated us quite well but I am very glad to be off that bus and I am very glad they (the guerrillas) are dead.” The hijackers demanded to be allowed to cross the border into Egypt and Israeli officials spent the night locked in negotiations as troops surrounded the bus. The guerrillas had said that they would release their hostages on the Egyptian side of the border in exchange for 500 Arab prisoners in Israeli jails, officials said. Military censors kept a news black-out on the negotiations and no word ol the hijacking was broadcast inside Israel.