Libya Orders Intercepts of Israel Aircraft

Col. Moammar Kadafi today ordered Libyan warplanes to intercept any Israeli airliners flying over the Mediterranean and force them to land at a Libyan air base.

The Libyan leader told a news conference any Israeli planes forced down would be searched for “Israeli terrorists.” He mentioned former Prime Minister Menachem Begin and former Defense Minister Ariel Sharon as people he considered “terrorists.”

In Tel Aviv, the Israeli Transport Ministry announced new flight paths for civilian aircraft flying to and from Israel to keep them as far as possible from both Libyan and Syrian airspace.

The ministry said in a statement that the aim of the new routes is “to ensure that air links between Israel and other countries will not be interrupted.”

Reprisal for Israeli Act

Speaking to reporters in his Azizia army barracks, Kadafi said the order was in retaliation for the diversion of a Libyan plane Tuesday by Israeli jets. The Israelis forced an executive jet on a flight from Libya to Damascus, Syria, to land in northern Israel.

The Israelis released the plane and its passengers when they found no Palestinian guerrillas on board and Israeli officials acknowledged the interception had been a “mistake.”

Kadafi said the Libyan operation against Israeli aircraft will continue “until we have obliged Israel to obey the rule of law in international air traffic.”

He stressed that only Israeli aircraft would be targets, and that planes of the United States or other countries would not be affected.

Kadafi said the Libyan operation would not be deterred by the presence of the U.S. 6th Fleet in the Mediterranean. “If the Americans commit aggression against our planes, we will attack them,” he said.