PUBLIC HEARINGS ARE HEARD AT INQUIRY INTO THE 1992 EL-AL CRASH, 1999-01-27 (photo)

Dutch Chairman of the Parliamentary committee Theo Meijer (R) listens to first witness K. Mohamed (C) as member of Parliament Mr. Oudkerk listens at the public hearings of the Dutch inquiry into the 1992 crash of an El-AL plane into a densely populated Amsterdam suburb at the Parliamentary building in The Hague January 27. The committee aims to solve the riddle of the plane's load and examine charges of high-level cover-up. The hearings mark the culmination of a four-month inquiry of the aircraft's load. The Israeli government confirmed earlier, that the plane was carrying a chemical known as DMMP, a key component used to make Sarin nerve gas, but insisted the material was non-toxic and was to have been used to test filters that protect against chemical weapons. JFL/