Uncertainty prevailed today over the fate of two high ranking Algerian nationals detained since last Friday when they were removed from a BOAC airliner in transit at Lydda Airport. Government officials indicated yesterday that they would be released in a few days. But Deputy Premier Yigal Allon said in reply to questions at a meeting last night that no decision has been reached yet. The Algerians are Maj. Khatib Jaloul, secretary of the Algerian government and All Bel Aziz, a senior ministerial secretary. The newspaper Maariv claimed in a report from London today that Maj, Jaloul is the head of the Algerian secret police. The paper did not explain his comparatively low rank for such a post. Reporters and press photographers waited for hours at Lydda Airport today in anticipation that the Algerians would be released. Two BOAC flights departed but there was no sign of the detainees. Meanwhile the wives of Israelis held captive in Arab hands have demanded that the government hold the Algerians for a prisoner exchange.
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.
