Lebanese Angry at U.S., Hamadi Trial Witness Says
A West German journalist called to testify on the background of confessed Lebanese hijacker Mohammed Ali Hamadi said today that young Lebanese blame the United States for Lebanon’s chaos.
“They always blame America for everything because that’s the name they see on weapons used against them,” said Gerhard Konzelmann.
Hamadi, a Lebanese Shia Muslim, is accused of killing U.S. Navy diver Robert Stethem during the 1985 hijacking of a TWA airliner.
He also faces charges of air piracy in connection with the hijacking of TWA Flight 847, during which some people were brutally beaten and 39 Americans were held hostage 17 days.
Hamadi, who admitted hijacking the plane but denied killing Stethem, already has testified about his hatred for the United States and Israel.
Konzelmann testified Hamadi’s views are consistent with those of many young Lebanese. “For them, America is often more guilty than Israel, because it provides the weapons.”
Konzelmann, 55, worked for West German television in Beirut for about 10 years beginning in the late 1960s. He later wrote a book about his experiences called “Der Unheilige Krieg” (The Unholy War).
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