Israel has paid $180,000 in compensation so far to the families of victims of the Feb. 21 Libyan airliner disaster States Attorney Meir Shamgar disclosed here last night. Shamgar refused to reveal the names or nationalities of the recipients for their own protection but said that they include Arabs living in Arab countries. He added that claims submitted by ten other families are being processed.
The Libyan airliner was shot down by Israeli fighter planes with a loss of 108 lives after straying into Israeli air space over Sinai. The Cabinet immediately offered ex-gratia (free will) payments of $30,000 to the families of the dead and payments of $10-$30,000 to the injured passengers and crew members who survived.
The offer was rejected by Egyptian and Libyan authorities but Israeli authorities, nevertheless, made contact with the bereaved families through the International Red Cross and other channels. Shamgar did not say how the payments were affected.
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.
