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At least part of Israel's heightened anger seemed due to the continuing detention in Algiers of an El Al Boeing airliner, seven crewmen and five Israeli passengers, the victims of a commando hijacking last month. Last week, in a novel legal gambit, Iraq announced that it would sue in Algeria to have the Boeing impounded pending release of an Iraqi MIG-21 that a defecting pilot had flown to Israel last year. But international pressure was building up for release of the El Al plane and the detained Israelis. Commercial pilots spoke of boycotting Algerian airports. Israel enlisted the aid of 30 nations that have relations with both itself and Algeria, also appealed to U Thant for help. Perhaps more to the point, Israel intimated that if the plane was not released soon, its fighters might force down some Arab airliners in retaliation.