Although the flight attendant apparently had no political motives for his endeavor, the hijacking immediately became politicized. Several members of the Israeli Knesset, or Parliament, pushed the government to hang on to the plane--and possibly the passengers--to bargain with Iran for information on the fate of Ron Arad, an Israeli military navigator whose plane was shot down by pro-Iranian guerrillas in Lebanon nine years ago. Iran’s Islamic Republic News Agency fueled the political flames with a charge that the hijacking was an Israeli plot confirming Israel’s terrorist nature and demanded the return of the plane, passengers and hijacker. Five passengers, meanwhile, asked for asylum in Israel.
