The West German government expressed “relief and satisfaction” yesterday over the success of Israel’s rescue operation in Uganda, observed that “the behavior of the authorities in Uganda needs clarification” and confirmed that it never had any intention of submitting to the hijackers’ demands for the release of pro-Palestinian terrorists imprisoned in West Germany.
An official statement released here referred to a joint statement issued by the Cabinet and leaders of the opposition parties late Saturday before there was any knowledge that Israel had mounted a rescue operation to free the Air France hijack victims held at Entebbe Airport in Uganda.
West German radio and television stations praised the operation as an important international event that could spell the end of surrender to terrorist blackmail. Most radio commentators said that the rescue, carried out over a distance of 2500 miles from Israel’s borders, showed that Israel’s military prowess was back to its 1967 level.