Argo 16

Causes

In 1999 the Corte d'assise of the Venice Tribunal declared that the cause had to be attributed to an accident, effectively excluding any intervention by the Mossad, but other theories on the causes of the accident have also been put forward without however providing concrete and adequate evidence.

During an episode of an Italian television program aired in 1990 and focused on the Argo 16 case, General Geraldo Serravalle, head of Gladio from 1971 to 1974, declared that although there is a widespread opinion that the cause was sabotage by the Israeli secret services, it was probable that the explosion was caused by the gladiators themselves who refused to hand over their weapons. Giovanni Pellegrino, former president of the italian commissione stragi, was of the same opinion and believed that the cause should be sought based on the use made of the plane by Gladio.

In 2000 General Gianadelio Maletti (SID) stated during an interview with a journalist of the italian newspaper la Repubblica that the plane was returning from Libya after having released five palestinians involved in a failed attack in Ostia and arrested and that an "unfortunate stop" in Malta officially confirmed to the israeli secret services what was happening. He also declared that he had been contacted by Asa Leven the then head of the israeli secret services station in Rome before that operation and that he was aware of the italian government's intentions he proposed to collaborate to kidnap the five and extradite them to Jerusalem but he said "nothing will be done" and "argo 16 crashes".