Soon after taking command, the hijackers separated the Jewish hostages from the others and sent them to the back of the aircraft. When the plane had landed, the hijackers demanded the release of 315 convicted Palestinian terrorists imprisoned in Israel, and threatened to blow up the airplane with its passengers. Captain Levy managed to send the Israelis a coded message requesting help. Defense Minister Moshe Dayan and Transport Minister Shimon Peres, who would become Prime Minister and later President of Israel, conducted negotiations with the hijackers while preparing a rescue operation, code-named "Operation Isotope." Captain Levy said he talked to the hijackers about everything "from navigation to sex" while the passengers and crew waited to be rescued.