An angry Knesset heard a demand today that Israel recall its Ambassador from West Germany for “extended consultations” in retaliation for Bonn’s release of the three Munich terrorists Sunday In exchange for the passengers and crew of a hijacked Lufthansa airliner.
It was disclosed coincidentally here today that Ambassador Eliashiv Ben-Horin has in fact been called home for consultations to last “a few days.” Political circles stressed that the recall would be very brief but admitted that it would be interpreted widely as a gesture of Israel’s displeasure over Bonn’s recent actions.
The demand for Ben-Horin’s recall was made by Haim Landau of the Gahal faction who also urged the government to order a military strike at Libya which Landau charged was a base and financial backer of the Palestinian terrorists. Landau also advised West German Chancellor Willy Brandt to postpone his planned visit to Israel until early next year in view of the bitter feeling here over Germany’s release of the terrorists. (See separate story.)
Landau spoke during the course of a Knesset debate held as a sequel to Foreign Minister Abba Eban’s speech yesterday to the Knesset in which he announced that Israel has demanded that the West German government clarify Its position on terrorism. Political circles here said Ben-Horin’s recall was to report personally to Eban what he was able to find out from the Bonn authorities about Germany’s position and the release of the terrorists.
BONN TRYING TO IMPROVE ARAB RELATIONS
Haim Zadok of the Labor Party, chairman of the Knesset’s Foreign Affairs and Security Committee, told the Knesset that Israelis were revolted to learn that West Germany has publicly thanked Libya for its humane treatment of the hijacked Lufthansa passengers who were landed in Tripoli, Libya, along with the hijackers and the freed terrorists.
Zadok said that Israelis were also deeply hurt by a West German spokesman’s remark that his country was not responsible for the conflict in the Middle East, He said he feared West Germany was trying to exploit Sunday’s events to improve its relations with the Arab states which were set back when German police shot it out with the Munich terrorists during the night of Sept. 5. Zadok said Israelis have a serious charge sheet against Germany and that it was important for the German government to know how Israelis like himself who favored normal relations with Bonn felt about the surrender to the hijackers.
Landau scored Germany for “giving the green light to kill more Jews” by freeing the three who took part in the murder of 11 Israeli Olympic athletes in Munich last month. He advocated hitting Libya, a country where “the hatred of Israel is strong but its power is weak.” He admitted that the Knesset was no place for suggesting military operations but claimed that a strike at Libya was well within Israel’s capabilities.
100 SYRIAN SOLDIERS KILLED, WOUNDED
A similar suggestion was made on a television inter view last night by Res. Gen. Gavish Yeshayahu. He said Libya could be hit even though it is distant from Israel and warned that it might, be a target if it continues to give aid and sanctuary to the terrorists.
The role of non-contiguous Arab states such as Libya in terrorist acts against Israel was one of the items discussed by Defense Minister Moshe Dayan who briefed the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Security Committee today. The details of his briefing remained classified but a handout by the committee afterwards said Dayan’s topics also covered the military situation, Soviet-Egyptian relations and yesterday’s Israeli air strikes at terrorist bases in Syria and a Syrian Army camp.
At least 100 Syrian soldiers were reported to have been killed or wounded in the raid on El Kaleh, a mechanized brigade headquarters near the Syrian-Lebanese border. Israeli pilots reported direct hits and large fires at the camp which indicated that a munitions dump may have been hit. One of the four terrorist bases in Syria bombed by Israeli planes yesterday was an encampment of the Ahmed Jibril faction of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine where Libyan “volunteers” are known to be stationed. Observers here said the raid on that target could be taken as a warning to Libya.
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.
