The New York Times · 18 September 1970

CP-1970-026

Terms Unchanged, Arab Says

By John M. Lee

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Transcribed from the clipping

BEIRUT, Lebanon, Sept. 17 — A spokesman for the Palestinian hijackers said today that the heavy shelling in Amman made no difference in the hijackers’ terms for release of the 54 or 55 airline hostages presumably still held in or near the embattled Jordanian capital.

“It is very dangerous for them,” said Ghassan Kanafani, editor of the weekly newspaper of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, who returned from Amman last night. In an interview in the Popular Front’s office, here, Mr.

Kanafani denied that the guerrillas had caused a deadlock in the negotiations over the hostages by refusing to give details of their demands for the release of guerrillas held by Israel. He said the basic problem was that Israel had not accepted the principle of an exchange.

Once this is done. he said, the Popular Front will divulge the names of Palestinian prisoners it wants exchanged. This list would presumably be the basis for further discussion. The other conditions being demanded of Israel, as restated by Mr.

Kanafani, are the release of a Swiss charged in Haifa with spying, the release of two Algerians taken off a British airliner in Israel last month and the release of 10 Lebanese soldiers taken prisoner in January.

He also reiterated the Popular Front’s other demand for the release of seven guerrillas held in Western Europe in return for British, Swiss and West German hostages. But he dwelt on his charge that the next move was up to Israel. “I am not ready to give our list until they announce in principle they will release our people,” Mr. Kanafani said fervently.

“The bombing makes no difference.” Speaking of the hostages in Amman, he said, “they are on the same level as our men. We could not give them better shelter than the shelter we give ourselves.” He reiterated that the American hostages “are being treated on the same basis as the Israelis because the United States Government is an enemy.”

He said that the Americans would be released with the Israelis only when Israel accepted the commandos’ terms.

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