Reagan and Arafat Hit Murder of Arab Aide

Investigators sifted the rubble of a pro-Arab group’s Santa Ana offices on Saturday seeking clues to a bombing Friday that killed the organization’s director in an attack condemned by both the White House and Palestine Liberation Organization leader Yasser Arafat.

No one has claimed responsibility for the blast that ripped the headquarters of the American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee and killed Alex M. Odeh, 41, the group’s West Coast regional director.

But group members and Odeh’s family believe the bombing was linked to Odeh’s defense of the PLO in two TV interviews Thursday night.

“The Administration deeply deplores this tragic event, and condemns in the strongest possible terms the criminal use of violence and terrorism to achieve political ends,” White House deputy press secretary Larry Speakes said in a statement Saturday.

“To think even for a moment that there exists a justification for such heinous acts does grave injustice to the principles of political freedom upon which this country was founded. The President extends his sincere condolences to Mr. Odeh’s widow Norma and his three small daughters, as well as to other members of the family,” the statement said.

Arafat Comments

Arafat told a news conference in Dakar, Senegal, that the bombing of the offices and the U.S. interception of an Egyptian plane carrying four Palestinians suspected of hijacking the Italian cruise ship Achille Lauro were “both terrorist acts.”

“I want to denounce the attack in California against pro-Palestinian activists,” Arafat said. “This was carried out by a band of terrorists protected by the American Administration. As yet, the United States has not arrested these criminals.”

In his statement, Speakes said President Reagan “has instructed that appropriate federal authorities provide the fullest possible support to the local police investigation now under way.”

Federal and local investigators probing the bombing of the committee offices, on the second floor of a three-story stucco building at 1905 E. 17th St., Santa Ana, declined to comment on any developments.

Specialists Sift Rubble

Specialists with the Orange County Sheriff Department’s hazardous devices team sifted the rubble and were expected to return today. Santa Ana police, agents with both the FBI and U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms and officers with the Los Angeles Police Department’s anti-terrorist division were also at the building.

FBI spokesman John Hoos said his agency “has assumed investigative jurisdiction regarding the bombing matter.”

He said the investigation was “aimed at determining if a terrorist group is involved. . . . The crime scene search is being headed up by the Orange County sheriff’s office and the FBI. . . . The evidence will initially be analyzed by the Orange County sheriff and then sent to our lab in Washington.”

Odeh, a Palestinian-born naturalized U.S. citizen, was struck with the full force of the blast as he opened the office door at 9:11 a.m. Friday, investigators said. But investigators said they have few details about the type of bomb used in the incident.

Odeh suffered severe injuries to his lower body and died at 11:24 a.m. at Western Medical Center in Santa Ana.

Seven other people--six of whom worked at the Teachers Insurance Co. offices across the hall from the committee’s headquarters--suffered minor injuries in the blast, but did not require hospitalization.

The bombing occurred the morning after Odeh made statements supporting the PLO in interviews with both KABC-TV news (Channel 7) and Cable News Network. Odeh said the PLO was mistakenly linked by the media to the hijacking of the Achille Lauro.

Angela Odeh, the victim’s sister, said when she told her brother she was worried about his TV appearances, he replied, “Why are you worried?”

2nd Office Targeted

It was the second time in two months that a committee regional office was an apparent bomb target. A 12-inch pipe bomb was found Aug. 16 in front of a West Roxbury, Mass., building housing the group’s office. It exploded before demolitions specialists could defuse it and seriously injured a police officer.

Meanwhile, Sami M. Odeh, the slain man’s brother, said he had received a telephone call from Mohammed Kamal, Jordan’s ambassador to the United States, conveying the condolences of King Hussein.

Throughout Saturday, female relatives and friends gathered at Sami Odeh’s house in Orange, while the adult men went to Alex Odeh’s home several miles away.

Funeral ceremonies are scheduled for 10 a.m. Tuesday at St. Norbert’s Catholic Church, across the street from the victim’s home.