Harvard Experts Say Israel Should Not Concede

Harvard Middle East experts contacted yesterday said that Israel should not concede to demands issued by the hijackers of an Italian cruise ship.

Members of the terrorist Palestinian Liberation Front, a Syrian-backed splinter group of the Palestinian Liberation Organization (P.L.O.), continued to hold 413 passengers and crew members hostage off the coast of Cyprus yesterday demanding that Israel release 50 Palestinian prisoners.

The experts also said that the seizure of the ship Monday should not be interpreted as a retaliation against an Israeli air attack on P.L.O. headquarters in Tunisia last week.

"Giving in to the terrorists' demands will not put an end to them. In fact, it increases the likelihood for another incident because the terrorists can get what they want," said Laurie Mylroie, assistant director of the Center for Middle East Studies.

Others agreed that Israel will resist pressure to meet the terrorists' ultimatum.

"I don't think Israel will give in to this kind of blackmail and I don't think they should," said Henry Rosovsky, Geyser University Professor and leader of the American Jewish Congress, a national lobbying organization.

"Israel does not look kindly on pressure to release prisoners. Chances are nil that this will be successful," said Lisa Anderson, assistant professor of government and a specialist in Middle Eastern politics.

The experts said a variety of factors other than the recent Israeli bombing provoked the hijacking.

Noting that the terrorists belong to a faction that opposes P.L.O. leader Yassir Arafat, Mylroie said the hijacking was likely intended to sabotage peace negotiations currently underway between Arafat and Jordan's King Hussein.

Along similar lines, Assistant Professor of History Zachary Lockman, a specialist in modern Middle Eastern history, said that the Palestinian Liberation Front "wants to undermine Yassir Arafat by attacking Italy, a country with which the Arafat faction has had good relations."

The Italian ship was both a vulnerable and effective target because of its lax security and its likelihood of capturing American attention, the professors said.

"Terrorists put pressure on Israel by taking Europeans of any kind and getting Western media coverage," said Anderson.

Mylroie cited Israel's May release of 1250 Palestinian guerillas in exchange for three Israeli prisoners of war as another inspiration for this most recent incident. The released prisoners were greeted as heroes and bolstered the confidence of other would-be terrorists, she said.