Mideast Report

Friday, June 9, 2000 | by

JERUSALEM (JTA)—Two American citizens filed a lawsuit against Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat for their suffering during the 1985 hijacking of the cruise ship Achille Lauro.

Sophie Chasser, 84, of Hollywood, Fla., and Ann Schneider, 87, of Great Neck, N.Y., are asking for $5 million in damages from Arafat and Mohammed Abu Abbas, the mastermind of the hijacking.

Palestinian stalwart denies bombing link

JERUSALEM (JTA)—Palestinian guerrilla chief Ahmed Jibril Tuesday denied charges by an alleged Iranian defector that his group was involved in the bombing of a Pan Am airliner over Lockerbie, Scotland, in 1988.

An Iranian defector calling himself Ahmad Behbahani told CBS that Jibril, head of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command, of having a direct role in the bombing that killed all 270 people aboard.

Jibril said the charge was "fabricated by the United States to pressure the Palestinian opposition, especially our group, which opposes the so-called Palestinian-Israeli peace negotiations."