Foreigners Rush to Leave Israel
Foreigners crowded airlines Sunday seeking tickets out of the country, while the number of air carriers that have suspended their regular flights to Israel rose to five.
Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir said he understands that some people do not want to be in the area as the Jan. 15 U.N. deadline for Iraqi withdrawal approaches.
“It should not hurt us. It should not make us afraid. We have to accept it as it is,” Shamir said of the flight cancellations and exodus of foreigners. “ . . . One has to understand this is an international event, and we are in the middle.”
Iraqi President Saddam Hussein has said that Tel Aviv will be Iraq’s first target if it is attacked by multinational forces massed in the Persian Gulf.
An increasing number of travelers bought tickets or changed destinations to catch earlier flights out of the country, Israel Radio said. Officials at Israel’s Ben-Gurion Airport said they expect an increase in demand for tickets as Jan. 15 nears.
Meanwhile, two more major airlines suspended flights to Israel. LOT, the Polish air carrier, and South African Airways said they suspended all direct flights. They joined three other airlines, including Pan American World Airways, which announced last week they would stop flying to Israel because of increased insurance costs.
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