News Brief

Israeli naval units Thursday night captured a 150-ton sailing vessel believed to have been the “mother ship” that launched the terrorists who attacked Tel Aviv. The vessel, whose origin was not immediately identified, is believed to have dropped the terrorists about 30 miles off-shore. ade exploded in his hand.

But the latest assault involved a gang of sight heavily armed and apparently well trained killers and bore all the aspects of having been meticulously planned and timed. The terrorists are believed to have come from a base in Lebanon. Their dinghys were probably motorized and booby-trapped. They blew up shortly after the landing, either from shore fire or a timing device, indicating that the terrorists were on a suicide mission and did not expect to escape by sea.

The section of Tel Aviv hit was fashionable in the 1930s and 40s but had long since degenerated into a sleazy “red light” district of cheap cafes, run-down hotels and pensions. Only a few blocks to the north, however, Tel Aviv’s “Gold Coast” begins, a row of luxurious beach front hotels including the Dan, Plaza and 20-story Tel Aviv Hilton.

TOURIST SOLIDARITY URGED

The impact of the terrorist attack so close to one of Israel’s prime resort areas was not lost on Minister of Tourism Moshe Kol. He issued a statement today urging Jews abroad now more than ever to come to Israel to show their solidarity with the Jewish State and their defiance of the terrorists. Kol also appealed to Christian pilgrims and other visitors planning to come here for the Easter holidays not to alter their plans.

(In New York, the United Jewish Appeal announced today that two UJA Young Leadership Missions totaling 100 persons are leaving for Israel tonight on El Al as scheduled, When asked if they wanted to cancel their departure because of the terrorist attack, they said no and stressed they were not afraid but wanted to demonstrate their solidarity with the people of Israel.)

Police Minister Shlomo Hillel said after this morning’s Cabinet meeting that the latest terrorist attack underscored the vital need to step up civil defense efforts, He said civilian guards were needed to patrol all cities, towns and villages in Israel. He conceded, however, that it was physically impossible to seal off the country hermetically from all intruders. He noted that, like all coastal nations, Israel was especially vulnerable from the sea;