Operation Wooden Leg
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| Wooden Leg | |
|---|---|
 Map of Tunisia |
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| Operational scope | Strategic |
| Planned by |  Israeli Air Force |
| Objective | Destroy PLO headquarters in Hammam al-Shatt, Tunisia |
| Date | October 1, 1985 |
| Executed by | Eight F-15 Eagles |
| Outcome | Success |
| Casualties | ~100 dead |
Operation Wooden Leg (Hebrew: מבצע רגל עץ, Mivtza Regel Etz) was the Israeli codename for an Israeli Air Force raid on the Palestine Liberation Organization's headquarters in Hammam al-Shatt, Tunisia, 12 miles from the capital of Tunis, that took place on October 1, 1985.
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[edit] Background
On September 25, 1985, three Israeli civilians were killed on their yacht off the coast of Larnaca, Cyprus. An elite section of the PLO known as "Force 17" claimed credit for the attack. The Israeli cabinet and the Israeli Air Force desired immediate retaliation, and chose the Tunis headquarters of the PLO as their target.
The PLO had been based in Tunisia after it was routed from Lebanon three years earlier in the 1982 Lebanon War. At that time, Israel invaded Lebanon and drove the PLO out in an attempt to put an end to continued rocket attacks, launched from southern Lebanon into Israel.
[edit] The Operation
The strike, dubbed "Wooden Leg" by the IAF, was carried out by eight F-15 Eagles, including the primary attack planes, backup attack and escorts. At 07:00 on October 1, the F-15s took off for Tunisia. Taking place 1,280 miles (2060 km) away, this was the furthest operation from Israel undertaken by the Israeli Defense Forces since the 1976 Entebbe Operation in Uganda. A Boeing 707 refueled the craft in mid-flight over the Mediterranean Sea in order to allow the operation to be executed over such a distance.
The Israeli planes dropped precision-guided munitions on the seaside headquarters of the PLO. Helicopters were available from a naval vessel near Malta in case of a need to recover downed pilots, but these were never used.
The PLO headquarters were destroyed, although Yasser Arafat, the head of the organization, was not there at the time and escaped unharmed. Israel claimed that some 60 PLO members had been killed, including several leaders of Force 17. In addition, the operation resulted in the killing of many Tunisian civilians[1].
[edit] Aftermath
The attack provoked a strong outcry, even in the United States, Israel's strongest ally. Though initially labeling the strike a "legitimate response" to terror, the Reagan administration later said the attack "cannot be condoned". The attack also harmed relations between the U.S. and the Tunisian president, Habib Bourguiba, as well as throwing a wrench into negotiations between Israel and Egypt over control of the border-town of Taba. Israeli Prime Minister Shimon Peres was quoted as saying "It was an act of self-defense. Period".
In resolution 573 (1985) the United Nations Security Council voted (with the United States abstaining) to condemn the attack on Tunisian territory as a flagrant violation of its Charter and considered that Tunisia had the right to appropriate reparations.[2]
[edit] References
- ^ W. Seelye, Talcott (March 1990), "Ben Ali Visit Marks Third Stage in 200-Year-Old US-Tunisian Special Relationship", The Washington Report: 7, http://www.washington-report.org/backissues/0390/9003007.htm
- ^ United Nations Security Council Resolution S-RES-573(1985) on 4 October 1985 (retrieved 2007-08-10)
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- Security Council Resolution condemning raid - Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs
- isayeret.com - The Israeli Special Forces Database
- 1985 press conference on attack - Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs
- The Long Reach of the IAF
- Smith, William E. "Middle East Israel's 1,500-Mile Raid." TIME Magazine, 14 October 1985.
