PLO Settles Suits in Achille Lauro Case
The Palestine Liberation Organization has settled a 12-year-old case brought by the family of an American who was killed in his wheelchair and tossed into the sea during the hijacking of the Achille Lauro cruise ship.
The PLO reached settlements a week ago with the family of Leon Klinghoffer and with a cruise travel company, but all parties agreed to keep the terms confidential, said Rodney E. Gould, lawyer for Crown Travel Service.
“It was amicably settled,” said Lawrence W. Schilling, a lawyer for the PLO. He declined to comment further on the settlement, in which the PLO did not admit to any wrongdoing.
The Achille Lauro was seized in October 1985 off Port Said, Egypt, by Palestinian terrorists who held those aboard hostage for two days until the commandos surrendered.
The agreements, entered into the record in U.S. District Court in Manhattan on Wednesday, ended nearly 12 years of litigation.
Lisa and Ilsa Klinghoffer, the daughters of Leon Klinghoffer, however, continue to call for the extradition of Abul Abbas, the Palestinian convicted in absentia of masterminding the hijacking.
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