Charges against the three surviving Palestinian terrorists who attacked an El Al airliner with machine guns at Zurich Airport last Feb. 18 will be changed from attempted murder to murder, it was reliably learned here yesterday following the death of Yoram Perez, the 26-year-old pilot trainee who was wounded in the attack. The terrorists, two men and a woman, are being held in pre-trial custody. They were members of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine. A spokesman for the prosecutor’s office said today that Mr. Perez’ death “will of course affect the criminal procedure against them. A fourth terrorist was shot to death by the plane’s security guard, Mordechai Rachamim. The latter was taken into custody but was released on bail last week and has returned to Israel. Mr. Perez was hit in the abdomen by three bullets in the attack. After emergency surgery doctors said they were confident he would recover. He died in the hospital yesterday after “a sudden worsening of his condition.” His wife Lea and parents were at his bedside. They accompanied his coffin to Israel today. Mr. Perez is also survived by a five-year-old daughter.
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.
