EGYPTIAN BORN MOHAMED ANSWERS QUESTIONS TO A PARLIAMENTARY COMMITTEE IN THE HAGUE, 1999-01-27 (photo)

Egyptian-born K. Mohamed gestures as he answers question asked by a Dutch parliamentary committee at the start of public hearings of the Dutch inquiry into the 1992 crash of an El-AL plane into a densely populated Amsterdam suburb 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/GB