Mystery surrounds the identity and intent of a 30-year-old man bearing a Dutch passport in the name of Hugo Mueller, who was killed yesterday along with an Israeli woman security officer when a valise he was carrying exploded at Ben Gurion Airport. Security officials are not certain whether the man was a terrorist who deliberately triggered the explosion in an act of suicide or a dupe used by Arab terrorist to smuggle explosives into Israel. Dutch authorities said they had no record of the man’s passport, indicating it was a forgery.
The blast took the life of 21-year-old Micki Ben Ishai of Bnai Brak who was buried today with official honors. Avi Ginat, another security officer, underwent eye surgery and treatment for severe burns. His condition was reported by hospital authorities today as grave. Security man Alias Elias suffered lesser injuries and is improving.
Three of the seven other persons injured in the explosion were still hospitalized today. Shoshana Shimon and Yaffa Tomsad are being treated for shock at Sheba Hospital. Amer Aziz, a 70-year-old tourist from Canada, is still under treatment for minor injuries sustained from flying glass.
The tragedy was underscored by the fact that Ms. Ishai, who joined the Ben Gurion Airport security force only eight months ago, was to have gone on leave today and had tickets for a European tour in her possession when she was killed. Transport Minister Gad Yaacobi expressed his personal sorrow over her death in the Knesset yesterday. He said her heroism had prevented a much greater tragedy. Ms. Ishai is survived by her parents and four sisters.
TRAGEDY PIECED TOGETHER
As security officials pieced together the tragedy, Ms. Ishai became suspicious of a man described by eye-witnesses as about 25 with long blonde hair wearing shabby jeans, who had just landed from an Austrian Airlines flight from Vienna.
The man picked up a red valise from a baggage conveyor belt and was glancing about nervously when approached by Ms. Ishai who asked if he had more luggage. He replied in the negative and was invited into a cubicle near the conveyor belt for a further check of his valise. According to one version of what followed, the suspect, realizing he was caught, activated explosives in the valise killing himself and the security girl.
According to another version, the man was unaware of the lethal nature of his baggage and opened it innocently, detonating about two kilograms of plastic explosives which erupted into a burst of flame and exploded.
Some credence is given the latter version by the fact that in past years Arab terrorists have duped innocent travelers into carrying booby-trapped luggage or parcels for them. Officials recall that several years ago disastrous mid-air explosions were averted when concealed timebombs carried aboard El Al flights at European airports failed to function. The carriers, identified as girls from Holland and Peru, were found to have no knowledge of the contents of the parcels which, if detonated, would have taken their own lives.
On the other hand, information from The Hague that Dutch authorities had no record of passport No. 395048 or of a Dutch citizen named Hugo Mueller, strengthened suspicion here that the man was a terrorist, possibly of German or Austrian nationality.
FURTHER MYSTERY REMAINS
Whatever the man’s identity, a further mystery remains as to how he smuggled explosive-laden baggage out of Austria. Officials at Vienna’s Schwechat Airport informed Israeli authorities that the plane on which Mueller traveled had only 10 passengers aboard and that Musller who checked in at the airport a half hour before takeoff time, was thoroughly searched and nothing was found on his person or in his luggage.
Security sources here said the only possibilities are that the luggage was switched between the time Mueller left the check-in counter and the time he boarded the plane or that it was switched or tampered with while in the baggage room which was not guarded. These sources pointed out that Arabs are among the employes at the Vienna Airport.
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.
