Maʿalot massacre
The Ma'alot massacre was the occupation of a school and the taking of all those present by members of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine in the northern Israeli town of Ma'alot on May 15, 1974, in which 31 Israelis (including 21 students) and the three attackers killed Life came.
course
On May 15, 1974, a three-man DFLP commando occupied a school in Ma'alot after entering Israel via the Israeli-Lebanese border.
Around 100 students and teachers were taken hostage. The command secured the building against an assault with booby traps and other explosive devices, the detonators of which were networked so that all explosive devices would be triggered if they were penetrated. At the same time, the hostage takers installed a remote detonator. The hostage takers demanded the release of Kōzō Okamoto and 23 Arab prisoners from Israeli custody.
The summoned IDF - special unit Sayeret Matkal should free the hostages. The operation failed because a sniper initially seriously injured one of the terrorists instead of killing him immediately. So the booby traps could be detonated during the following firefight. As a result, 31 hostages were killed and more than 60 others injured. Among the fatalities were 21 students as well as two Arab Israelis . All terrorists were killed in the action.
consequences
In retaliation, the Israeli Air Force flew missions against DFLP training camps in Lebanon. Seven Palestinian refugee camps and villages in southern Lebanon were also hit, according to a BBC report, killing at least 27 and injuring 138 people.
The evaluation of the incident revealed that attackers can also succeed in carrying out such attacks on Israeli territory and that they act as suicide bombers . That was completely new and required a revision of previous tactics in the fight against terrorism and negotiating with hostage-taking . As a result, was the border police - special unit yamam erected.
memory
In 2007 a documentary film was made about the event. A synagogue in California was named Shir Ha-Ma'alot in memory of the victims.
See also
literature
- Muki Betser, Robert Rosenberg: On a secret mission . Heyne, 1998, ISBN 3-453-14137-7 .
Web links
- BBC report on the attack and its aftermath (another Israeli air strike )
- Israeli insider history (English)
- List of terrorist attacks on Israeli citizens and institutions of the Israeli Foreign Ministry (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/may/16/newsid_2512000/2512399.stm
- ^ Congregation Shir Ha-Ma'alot . Archived from the original on September 4, 2011. Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved April 27, 2011.
