MIDDLE EAST: The War Prisoners Come Home

"You are clear from Lod to Cairo."

The voice of the towerman at Lod Airport broke suddenly last week as he passed along that seemingly routine flight clearance to a visiting Swiss pilot. The controller could hardly be blamed for the unprofessional display of emotion. The jet that he was routing was a Swiss DC-9 on charter to the International Red Cross. Shortly before takeoff, a convoy of 18 Israeli ambulances with red Star of David markings drew alongside the jet, owned by a charter company called Balair. Slowly, in some cases painfully,...

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