Yasir Arafat, commander of the El Fatah, has denied that any Arab commando group was responsible for the crash Saturday of an Israel-bound Swiss air jet and added that the Arab commando groups were “seriously viewing the entire question of attacks on international airliners,” it was reported here from Amman. The Amman Radio quoted Arafat as asserting at a news conference yesterday in Amman that the review was being done by “the Unified Command of the commando organizations,” described here as a body to formulate policy for the 10 groups of Palestinian guerrillas. It reportedly was formed when the guerrillas felt they needed a united front during their confrontation two weeks ago with King Hussein of Jordan.
Arafat’s statement reportedly was considered as confirmation of reports that El Fatah, the largest guerrilla group with the widest support from Arab governments, was pressuring the Unified Command to stop guerrilla operations in foreign countries. It was reported that opposition to the El Fatah effort may come from the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine which has attacked planes of El Al. Arafat was also quoted as suggesting that “a non-Arab” terrorist group might be responsible for the Swiss air sabotage.
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.
