Italy Frees Two Terrorists; Israel Dissatisfied with Explanation

Israeli officials privately expressed dissatisfaction today with Italy’s explanation of how and why two Arab terrorists who had a concealed bomb smuggled aboard an El Al airliner at Rome Airport last Aug. were released from jail. There was no official reaction here, however.

The pair, Ahmed Zaid, 24, of Iraq, and Adned Mohammed Hashem, 29, of Jordan, were arrested after two British girl passengers identified them as the men who duped them into taking a record player which contained a time bomb aboard the El Al flight from Rome to Tel Aviv. The bomb exploded in mid-air but caused no casualties and only minor damage to the plane.

A Home magistrate freed the two Arabs last Tuesday under the “provisional liberty” clause in Italian law. They left Rome’s Regina Coeli prison without bail. A Foreign Ministry spokesman said Thursday that the Israel Embassy in Rome had asked the Italian Foreign Ministry for a “clarification.” The latter informed Israeli Ambassador Emil Najar that the released prisoners were required to remain in Rome and report regularly to police pending their trial.

The Italian magistrate who released the two terrorists said he did so because the explosives in the record player could not have endangered the passengers. He noted that there had not been enough explosives to seriously damage the plane and cited as evidence the fact that the plane returned safely to the Rome Airport after the explosion. In addition, he stated that the two terrorists were only small cogs in the terrorist machine carrying out orders of higher officials who were never apprehended.