Israelis Force Down Libya Jet but Find No Terrorists : 9 Syrian Politicans on Board

Israeli warplanes intercepted a private jet bound from Libya to Syria with nine Syrian politicians aboard today and forced it to land in Israel. Military authorities said the Libyan plane was searched for terrorists and left five hours later with everyone on board.

The Israeli warplanes intercepted the American-made Gulfstream executive jet in international airspace east of Cyprus in the belief that “persons involved in planning an attack against Israel” were aboard, a military spokesman said.

Military sources in Jerusalem said the plane, diverted to an air base in northern Israel, had been carrying three crew members and nine passengers, all of them Syrian politicians.

The plane was allowed to leave at 6:25 p.m., the military said. It departed with its lights off to prevent photographers and television crews from filming it.

A military spokesman said the plane resumed its flight to the Syrian capital of Damascus, where the government requested an emergency meeting of the U.N. Security Council to deal with what Damascus radio called “air piracy by Israel.”

Foreign Minister Farouk Shareh, in a note to representatives of the five permanent Security Council member countries, said, “I ask you to inform the head and members of the United Nations about this act, which is considered an obvious violation of international law and agreements guaranteeing the freedom and safety of air navigation.”

May Have Made Mistake

An Israeli army radio report said earlier that the plane was released with all its crew and passengers after “an examination of the passengers and the plane was carried out.”

Sources close to Israeli intelligence said they may have made a mistake when they intercepted the plane in the belief that its passengers were planning an attack on Israel.

Other military sources said no shots were fired in the interception of the jet.

A spokesman for the air control center in Cyprus told authorities that the tower there was in contact with the Libyan pilot of the aircraft when the interception took place about 50 to 70 miles northeast of the Mediterranean island.

“At one point the captain of the Libyan plane said he was intercepted by two Israeli air force jets rocking their wings and signaling the Libyan plane to follow them,” the spokesman said.

The captain radioed, “I will follow them,” and radio contact was broken off at that point, the Cypriot spokesman said.

U.S. Role Charged

Libyan Radio said the plane belonged to Libyan Arab Airlines and charged that U.S. naval units stationed in the Mediterranean off Libya for recent exercises had helped track its flight for the Israelis.

“American naval units . . . provided full information to the Zionist pirates about the movements of the civilian plane, which was on a flight from Tripoli to Damascus,” it said.

Both Libyan Radio and sources close to Israeli intelligence said Abdullah Ahmar, assistant secretary general of the Syrian Baath Party, was aboard the jet. The sources denied other reports that Palestinian guerrilla leaders were with him.

Libyan Radio said Ahmar had been in Tripoli to attend a meeting of the National Command of Arab Revolutionary Forces, a Libyan-sponsored coalition of Middle Eastern guerrilla and opposition groups.