Hijackers returned to U.S.S.R.

Press, 5 December 1988, Page 10

Hijackers returned to U.S.S.R.

NZPA-Rueter Moscow A four-man gang which hijacked a school bus in southern Russia and was given a plane to fly to Israel arrived back in Moscow yesterday after being expelled by Israel.

The official Tass news agency said the four “terrorists” arrived at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo airport aboard two special flights of the State airline Aeroflot.

The three-day episode resulted in close co-opera-tion between Soviet and Israeli authorities and appeared to strengthen moves in recent months to improve relations. Mos-

cow cut formal diplomatic ties with Israel after the 1967 Middle-East War.

The hijackers left Tel Aviv on Saturday night in police custody, three days after seizing a bus with 30 schoolchildren aboard for 22 hours in the town of Ordzhonikidze, southern Russia.

They released them in exchange for a transport plane provided by Soviet authorities along with a ransom and flew to Israel with the eight-man Soviet crew. Gang members gave themselves up on arrival.

The Israeli police chief in charge of the operation, Enosh Givati, said

the hijackers had been “extradited according to a decision by the Foreign Ministry. As far as we are concerned they have committed no crime in Israel.”

The Soviet Foreign Minister, Eduard Shevardnadze, met the head of the Israeli consular delegation in Moscow on Saturday to thank him for Israel’s “goodwill and decisive action to put an end to this illegal act,” Tass reported. It was the first political contact between the Soviet authorities and the consular delegation. The delegation has been in Moscow since last

July, officially to look after “technical questions” associated with Israeli and Jewish interests.

A Soviet delegation has also been in Israel for several months to deal with matters related to Russian Orthodox Church property in the country. The Israeli Foreign Ministry said its members were kept informed during the hijack.

The Israeli Foreign Minister, Shimon Peres, said after the episode, "I hope a way will be found to continue and deepen the understanding between the two countries.”

He said in a television interview, “I think it improves greatly the climate between the Soviet Union and ourselves.”

Mr Peres said he was glad to hear of the meeting with Mr Shevardnadze and that “we succeeded in handling the event in a friendly and well-organ-ised way.” In its report on the return to Moscow of the hijackers, Tass said a fifth person previously referred to as a gang member was Tamara Yakshiyants, wife of the ringleader, Pavel Yakshiyants. It said she had in fact been a hostage.