The sole surviving terrorist in last year’s sea-borne commando raid on Tel Aviv which took 13 lives was sentenced to death by a military court this evening. The sentence, pronounced on 21-year-old Mussa Bin Jamal Eltlalke, was one of the rare in stances in which an Israeli court has imposed capital punishment.
The prosecution, in fact, had asked for life imprisonment. But the three-member tribunal, headed by an army colonel, decided on the death penalty even though it was not demanded; because of the bloodshed caused by the raid. The fatalities occurred when the terrorists, who landed on the Tel Aviv beach from a rubber boat March 5, 1975, seized hostages at the nearby Savoy Hotel and subsequently blew up the building. Observers here believe, however, that the death sentence is not likely to be carried out.
Another terrorist involved in the same raid, Hamed Darwish, was sentenced to life imprisonment. He was not one of the commandos but captained the boat that landed the killers.
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