Two unidentified men attempted to set up a small machine gun in an attic window facing the rear of the Israeli Embassy here last night while an Independence Day reception attended by 3000 guests, including high French government officials, was in progress Police said the weapon commanded a narrow street along which the guests had to walk and that even a brief burst of fire under the circumstances could have been deadly.
According to the police, two men broke into the seventh floor attic room occupied by a housemaid, tied her up and began assembling the machine gun on the windowsill. The maid screamed when she saw the weapon and the two men fled. Neighbors who heard the screams summoned police. The incident, which was not immediately disclosed, brought a small army of special security men and police sharpshooters to the scene to guard the Embassy and comb the area for suspects.
Plainclothes detectives discreetly entered the Embassy building with the permission of Israeli authorities and mingled with the guests as Israeli security men kept a sharp watch on the stream of people waiting to enter.
Police sharpshooters took up positions on nearby rooftops. But none of the guests attending the reception were aware that anything was amiss. The guests included the President of the French National Assembly, Edgar Faure; Olivier Guichard, the Minister for National Equipment; Jean de Lipovsky, Undersecretary of State for Foreign Affairs; Jean-Philip Leczi, Undersecretary for the National Budget; and scores of foreign ambassadors and military attaches.
After the reception, Israeli Ambassador Asher Ben Natan was escorted to his home under heavy police guard. Patrol cars and armed police continued to stand guard today over his residence on the elegant Avenue Foch. Police sources said today that an investigation was in progress but refused to say whether any progress had been made. The housemaid who was the only eye-witness was being questioned today at police headquarters.
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