October 17, 1985

Israel released a tape recording tonight of what it said was a conversation between a senior Palestinian guerrilla leader and the hijackers of the Italian cruise ship Achille Lauro. Israeli officials asserted that the tone and language of a man on the tape they identified as the guerrilla leader, Mohammed Abbas, indicated that he helped plan and direct the operation. Mr. Abbas and Yasir Arafat, the Palestine Liberation Organization chairman, have maintained that Mr. Abbas's role in the episode was solely that of a mediator in arranging the hijackers' surrender. [In Washington, Administration officials said they were prepared to prove in court that Mr. Abbas planned the operation that led to the hijacking, and that the evidence included the conversation cited in the Israeli tape recording. But the officials said they could not prove that Mr. Abbas directly controlled the actions of the four gunmen.] 'Our' Operation Mentioned A voice on the tape, played tonight on Israeli television, at one point refers to ''our operation.'' Officials here said Mr. Abbas used the term and they called the reference evidence that he aided in planning the terrorist action, that the hijackers were following his orders and that they had probably arranged a code for emergency communications.

The five-party coalition of Prime Minister Bettino Craxi collapsed Wednesday night, and Mr. Craxi was expected to resign today. The small Republican Party led by Defense Minister Giovanni Spadolini withdrew from the coalition to protest the Government's handling of the hijacking of the cruise liner Achille Lauro and the release of a Palestinian leader sought by the United States. Mr. Spadolini announced Wednesday afternoon that he and the two other Republicans in the Cabinet had submitted their resignations to Mr. Craxi, a Socialist. Move Touches Off Meetings Mr. Spadolini's announcement set off a storm of reaction and late-night meetings among the coalition partners. Besides the Republicans and the Socialists, the Cabinet consists of the Christian Democrats, Italy's largest party, and the small Liberal and Social Democratic Parties. In theory, the Government would command a small majority in Parliament without the Republicans, but it seemed unlikely that the coalition could carry on.

''This action is the result of the growing disillusionment with the Sandinista regime by large sectors of the population and reflects the Sandinistas' fear of their own people.

International Israel released a tape recording of what it said was a conversation between a senior Palestinian official and the hijackers of the cruise liner Achille Lauro. Israeli officials affirmed that the tape indicated the official, Mohammed Abbas, was not just a mediator in the hijacking, but helped plan and direct the operation. [Page A1, Column 6.] A body washed up on Syria's coast has been ''positively identified'' as that of Leon Klinghoffer of New York, a passenger on the hijacked Italian cruise ship. Larry Speakes, the White House spokesman, said the body showed ''indications of two gunshot wounds, one in the head and the other in the back.'' [A1:4-5.]

Forging an alliance with one of New York's most powerful businessmen, CBS Inc. yesterday offered Laurence A. Tisch, chairman of the Loews Corporation, a seat on its board of directors. At the same time Loews, which recently amassed 11.3 percent of the giant media company's stock, said it would increase its stock holdings in CBS to as much as 25 percent. Several analysts said that for CBS, which has been entangled in a takeover fight and plagued by rumors for much of this year, the move was a stabilizing one, at least in the near term. They suggested that by bringing Mr. Tisch to the board the company had neutralized any takeover threat that he may have posed. In addition, they said, an unfriendly bidder might have a harder time trying to take over CBS if Mr. Tisch's company buys the full 25 percent.