Berri Warns of ‘Serious Harm’ in a U.S. Raid

Shia Muslim leader Nabih Berri warned Saturday that if the United States is planning a military operation to rescue the hijack hostages, such a move could “inflict serious harm” on the 40 Americans, now in their second week of captivity.

Berri, head of the principal Shia militia, Amal, which has taken responsibility for most of the detained passengers and crewmen of a Trans World Airlines Boeing 727, spoke after Lebanese news media reported that U.S. Navy F-14s had flown over Beirut and that a U.S. aircraft carrier with Marines was close offshore.

“The United States is preparing for a military operation,” said Berri, who has been negotiating for the Shia hijackers for an end to the hostage impasse. It began June 14 with the commandeering of an Athens-to-Rome flight with 153 people aboard.

‘Flexing of Muscles’

“It is certain that the air activity and the flexing of muscles will inflict serious harm on the innocent hostages,” he said. “We have information about the arrival of some U.S. officers to (Christian) East Beirut for the military preparations.”

In Washington, the White House denied that U.S. warplanes had flown over Beirut.

There was no information on Berri’s reference to U.S. officers in East Beirut.

The Pentagon refused to comment on what Washington sources said was the arrival of 1,800 Marines to join a battle group led by the aircraft carrier Nimitz off Lebanon.

The 24th Marine Amphibious Unit was reportedly aboard the helicopter assault ship Saipan, the amphibious docking ship Nashville and the tank landing ship Spartanburg County. Sources said the Marines were brought in as a show of force, but there were no indications that they might be used in a rescue attempt.

Meanwhile, Hassan Sablani, a senior Amal leader, told NBC News that the militia is tired of being depicted as a supporter of hijackings and terrorism. He said if the situation does not improve significantly within two days, Amal will drop out of the negotiations, order the hijackers to put the hostages back on the airplane and “tell them to fly away.”

However, another Amal leader, who refused to be identified, said the reference to two days is not a deadline.

The hijackers, who have killed one passenger, U.S. Navy diver Robert Dean Strethem, are demanding that Israel release about 760 prisoners, most of them Shia Muslims, in exchange for the hostages.

In Washington on Saturday, a State Department spokesman described the nine-day-long hostage crisis as “static” and “frozen.”

Berri briefed U.N. envoy Jean-Claude Aime on the situation. In Geneva, meanwhile, a Swiss government spokesman said that Berri had telephoned Swiss Foreign Minister Pierre Aubert on Friday, to say “he would be ready to bring the hostages to Swiss territory.”

White House spokesman Albert R. Brashear said reports that jets from the Nimitz had flown over Beirut are “not true.” However, a military source who refused to be further identified confirmed that planes had flown over Beirut but would not say if they were American or Israeli.

There has been speculation the hijackers are getting ready to free two ailing Americans. Akef Haidar, a ranking Amal leader, said the men would be sent home “if we feel they’re in danger. But now they’re quite all right.”

He identified them as Jimmy Dell Palmer, 48, of Little Rock, Ark., and Simon Grossmayer, 57, of Algonquin, Ill. Amal officials had earlier identified the two as Palmer and Claude Whitmoyer, of Severn, Md.

Haidar said: “Palmer has heart trouble. He was taken to the American University of Beirut for checkups yesterday (Friday) and returned back to the hijackers. He is well, quite well.”