Switzerland has expelled the Israeli military attache Col. Zvi Alon in connection with the alleged theft of plans for the Mirage IIl-S jet engines manufactured by the Sulzer plant in Winterthur under license from the French firm of Marcel Dassault. The expulsion order linked Col. Alon and his predecessor with Alfred Frauenknecht, an employee of Sulzer, who was arrested for the theft on Sept. 23.
According to Swiss Attorney General Hans Walder, Mr. Frauenknecht confessed to receiving $200,000 from Israel for the blueprints, models and tooling instructions. They were packed in 20 crates which Mr. Frauenknecht allegedly smuggled across the Rhine by barge to Israeli agents in West Germany. Mr. Walder made his charges public Sept. 26. Israeli officials in Jerusalem said at the time that they had no knowledge of Mr. Frauenknecht and refused further comment.
The Mirage III-S is said to be an improved version of the Mirage IV supersonic Jet, backbone of Israel’s combat air force. Fifty Mirage V jets which Israel bought and paid for have not been delivered by France owing to the arms embargo imposed by former President Charles de Gaulle two years ago.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
