Israel has protested to Britain over the release of Laila Khaled, the 24-year-old girl commando who tried to hijack an El Al airliner off the British coast last Sept. 6. The girl was freed after Arab terrorists released the last of 300 hijacked airliner passengers they had held hostage in Jordan. Israel had demanded Miss Khaled’s extradition on grounds that she committed a crime on Israeli territory. But according to reliable sources here, the Israel government does not intend to pursue the matter beyond its formal protest. Israel has also protested to the Swiss and West German governments over the release of six Arab terrorists in their custody. In Tel Aviv, the head of Israel’s civil aviation department said that he will demand more severe punishment for aircraft hijackers and attempts to hijack planes when he attends a meeting of the judicial committee of the International Civil Aviation Federation in London next week. Dr. N. Ben Yehuda talked to newsmen prior to his departure today for London. He said he would also demand sanctions against any nations assisting hijackers or giving them shelter.
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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.