| Plo framed for 1976 israeli hijacking { June 1 2007 } Original Source Link: (May no longer be active) http://washingtontimes.com/upi/20070601-012250-8782http://washingtontimes.com/upi/20070601-012250-8782
England releases Entebbe hijack files Published: June 1, 2007 at 1:34 PM
LONDON, June 1 (UPI) -- Newly released British files on a 1976 hijacking to Entebbe, Uganda, include the claim that Israel was behind the hijacking.
The BBC reported the National Archives file includes a claim made by a source to a British diplomat that the hijackers' demands, which included the release of Palestinian prisoners, were designed to turn the world against the Palestine Liberation Organization.
"The operation was designed to torpedo the PLO's standing in France and to prevent what they see as a growing rapprochement between the PLO and the Americans," the British diplomat wrote.
The file doesn't indicate whether England took the claim seriously, the BBC reported.
Israeli forces rescued dozens of hostages aboard the plane and overpowered the hijackers and Ugandan troops.
The Air France flight was hijacked shortly after it left Athens and flown to Uganda with 98 passengers, many of them Israeli, aboard. Two Israeli hostages died during the incident and a third died soon after in a hospital.
|
|