Dalal Mughrabi: Difference between revisions
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'''Dalal Mughrabi''' ({{lang-ar|دلال المغربي}}; ca. 1959 – March 11, 1978) was a [[Palestinian people|Palestinian]] militant, often referred to as a terrorist,<ref>{{cite book|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=dj_UiuHRT1IC&pg=PA438&dq=terrorist+%22dalal+mughrabi%22&hl=en&ei=4yEkTKXhDYH_8Ab7rbGxDw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=2&ved=0CCoQ6AEwAQ |title=The terrorist list: A-K |publisher= |date= |accessdate=June 25, 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=foqHhMokumoC&pg=PA166&dq=terrorist+%22dalal+mughrabi%22&hl=en&ei=4yEkTKXhDYH_8Ab7rbGxDw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=3&ved=0CC8Q6AEwAg |title=The Global War on Your Guns: Inside ... |publisher= |date= |accessdate=June 25, 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/03/15/AR2010031502290.html |title=Richard Cohen - Palestinians' destructive veneration of terrorists |publisher=washington post |date= |accessdate=June 25, 2010}}</ref><ref>http://news.yahoo.com/s/usnw/20100314/pl_usnw/DC70175/print</ref><ref>{{cite news|author=|url=http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/03/24/world/main6328654.shtml |title=Israel Balks as Palestine Honors Militants |publisher=CBS News |date=March 24, 2010 |accessdate=June 25, 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Jacobs |first=Mindelle |url=http://www.edmontonsun.com/comment/columnists/mindelle_jacobs/2010/05/07/13871371.html |title=Glorifying murderers only scores points at home | Mindelle Jacobs | Columnists | Comment |publisher=Edmonton Sun |date=May 9, 2010 |accessdate=June 25, 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|author=|url=http://www.startribune.com/opinion/commentary/88483582.html |title=Let me repeat: 'Existential threat' |publisher=Star Tribune |date=March 18, 2010 |accessdate=June 25, 2010}}</ref><ref>http://news.yahoo.com/s/uc/20100319/cm_uc_crmchx/op_513317/print</ref><ref>[http://books.google.com/books?id=gAJJYVKKq_cC&pg=PA196&dq=terrorist+%22dalal+mughrabi%22&hl=en&ei=4yEkTKXhDYH_8Ab7rbGxDw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=4&ved=0CDQQ6AEwAw A World of Trouble: The White House ... <!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> member of the [[Fatah]] faction of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) who directed the 1978 [[Coastal Road massacre]] in [[Israel]]. The attack resulted in the death of 37 [[Israelis|Israeli]] citizens, including 13 children, and one American photographer.<ref name="nyt">{{cite news |title=Palestinians Honor a Figure Reviled in Israel as a Terrorist |author=Isabel Kershner |newspaper=''[[The New York Times]]'' |url=http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/12/world/middleeast/12westbank.html |date=March 11, 2010 }}</ref> Mughrabi and nine or ten other militants were also killed over the course of the operation.<ref name=Ricolfi/><ref name=Guardian/> She has been hailed as a martyr and a national hero among Palestinians.<ref>{{citation|title=Gender in Crisis: Women and the Palestinian Resistance Movement|last=Peteet|first=Julie|publisher=Columbia University Press|year=1992|page=155|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=wopfWwEV6EAC&pg=PA155}}</ref> |
'''Dalal Mughrabi''' ({{lang-ar|دلال المغربي}}; ca. 1959 – March 11, 1978) was a [[Palestinian people|Palestinian]] [[Palestinian political violence|militant]], often referred to as a terrorist,<ref>{{cite book|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=dj_UiuHRT1IC&pg=PA438&dq=terrorist+%22dalal+mughrabi%22&hl=en&ei=4yEkTKXhDYH_8Ab7rbGxDw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=2&ved=0CCoQ6AEwAQ |title=The terrorist list: A-K |publisher= |date= |accessdate=June 25, 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=foqHhMokumoC&pg=PA166&dq=terrorist+%22dalal+mughrabi%22&hl=en&ei=4yEkTKXhDYH_8Ab7rbGxDw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=3&ved=0CC8Q6AEwAg |title=The Global War on Your Guns: Inside ... |publisher= |date= |accessdate=June 25, 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/03/15/AR2010031502290.html |title=Richard Cohen - Palestinians' destructive veneration of terrorists |publisher=washington post |date= |accessdate=June 25, 2010}}</ref><ref>http://news.yahoo.com/s/usnw/20100314/pl_usnw/DC70175/print</ref><ref>{{cite news|author=|url=http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/03/24/world/main6328654.shtml |title=Israel Balks as Palestine Honors Militants |publisher=CBS News |date=March 24, 2010 |accessdate=June 25, 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Jacobs |first=Mindelle |url=http://www.edmontonsun.com/comment/columnists/mindelle_jacobs/2010/05/07/13871371.html |title=Glorifying murderers only scores points at home | Mindelle Jacobs | Columnists | Comment |publisher=Edmonton Sun |date=May 9, 2010 |accessdate=June 25, 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|author=|url=http://www.startribune.com/opinion/commentary/88483582.html |title=Let me repeat: 'Existential threat' |publisher=Star Tribune |date=March 18, 2010 |accessdate=June 25, 2010}}</ref><ref>http://news.yahoo.com/s/uc/20100319/cm_uc_crmchx/op_513317/print</ref><ref>[http://books.google.com/books?id=gAJJYVKKq_cC&pg=PA196&dq=terrorist+%22dalal+mughrabi%22&hl=en&ei=4yEkTKXhDYH_8Ab7rbGxDw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=4&ved=0CDQQ6AEwAw A World of Trouble: The White House ... <!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> member of the [[Fatah]] faction of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) who directed the 1978 [[Coastal Road massacre]] in [[Israel]]. The attack resulted in the death of 37 [[Israelis|Israeli]] citizens, including 13 children, and one American photographer.<ref name="nyt">{{cite news |title=Palestinians Honor a Figure Reviled in Israel as a Terrorist |author=Isabel Kershner |newspaper=''[[The New York Times]]'' |url=http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/12/world/middleeast/12westbank.html |date=March 11, 2010 }}</ref> Mughrabi and nine or ten other militants were also killed over the course of the operation.<ref name=Ricolfi/><ref name=Guardian/> She has been hailed as a martyr and a national hero among Palestinians.<ref>{{citation|title=Gender in Crisis: Women and the Palestinian Resistance Movement|last=Peteet|first=Julie|publisher=Columbia University Press|year=1992|page=155|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=wopfWwEV6EAC&pg=PA155}}</ref> |
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==Early life== |
==Early life== |
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Revision as of 01:19, 20 July 2010
Dalal Mughrabi (Arabic: دلال المغربي; ca. 1959 – March 11, 1978) was a Palestinian militant, often referred to as a terrorist,[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9] member of the Fatah faction of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) who directed the 1978 Coastal Road massacre in Israel. The attack resulted in the death of 37 Israeli citizens, including 13 children, and one American photographer.[10] Mughrabi and nine or ten other militants were also killed over the course of the operation.[11][12] She has been hailed as a martyr and a national hero among Palestinians.[13]
Early life
Mughrabi was born and raised in the Palestinian refugee camp of Sabra in Beirut, Lebanon.[14] Her father's family home prior to the 1948 Palestine war was in Jaffa, Mandate Palestine. Her mother was Lebanese. Originally educated as a nurse Dalal Mughrabi decided to devote her life to politics when the Lebanese Civil War broke out in 1975. She joined Fatah and began working within the organization's communications service. She took part in the fighting against the Syrian army in the mountains southeast of Beirut when the Syrians entered Lebanon in 1976 to assist the Phalangists and their allies. In 1977 she completed a three-month training course attaining her the rank of lieutenant. She was offered a post in Italy by Fatah as political officer working at the PLO office, but she declined choosing instead a military career.[15]
Rashida al-Mughrabi, interviewed about her sister's participation in the attack, said:
I have no regrets about what my sister did. The Israelis are the ones who forced her to carry out the attack because they expelled us and stole our lands. They caused us a great injustice by turning us into a nation of refugees, and, if it weren't for the occupation, Dalal would never have carried out the attack. Maybe she would have raised a family and pursued a career.[16]
Coastal Road massacre
On the morning of March 11, 1978, Mughrabi and a group of between 11 and 13 Palestinian and Lebanese militants arrived on the coastal plain near Tel Aviv from Lebanon in rubber dingy boats.[12][14] According to the Guardian, Mughrabi lead the group, which included one more woman. According to Khaled Abu Asba, one of two of the perpetrators who survived, Mughrabi did not lead the team and was the only woman.[17] The timing was aimed at scuttling peace talks between Menachem Begin and Anwar Sadat.[18] Time magazine reported that the attackers' intent was to "kill as many Israelis as possible."[18] According to Hugh Macleod, their goal was to attack the ministry of defence in Tel Aviv.[12] Dalal's sister Rashida said, "The objective was not to kill civilians, but to reach the Knesset and demand the release of Palestinian prisoners."[16]
The first casualty of the operation was an American photographer named Gail Rubin,[19] whom Abu Absa says was killed by Mughrabi because the militants feared she would inform authorities of their presence.[17] According to Time magazine, the militants opened fire at passing traffic and hijacked a taxi, killing its occupants.[18] The militants then seized a bus and proceeded along the coastal highway to Tel Aviv.[17][18] While driving south, the hijackers seized another bus, and moved the hostages (now numbering 71) to the first bus.[18] Both hijacked buses were filled with militants and sightseers.[18] Abu Absa says that at every intersection where police set up roadblocks to stop the bus, there was an exchange of fire, but that the militants "never shot the hostages."[17]
Israeli forces stopped the bus, and a 9 to 15-hour shooting battle ensued before the bus exploded.[12][18][19] During the shootout, according to Macleod, Mughrabi raised the Palestinian flag and declared the establishment of a Palestinian state.[12] Israel says the bus exploded after Mughrabi blew it up with a grenade, while Palestinians say it was struck by fire from an Israeli helicopter gunship, though reports said the bus was stopped by some 30 traffic cops, armed only with .38 revolvers and UZI sub-machine guns.[12][18] Most of the militants and bus passengers were killed in the fighting and explosion, including one Israeli policeman.[12][18] A total of 39 Israelis, including 13 children, were killed and 72 were wounded; Mughrabi and nine other militants died as well.[11][20] According to reports, Ehud Barak, the current Israeli Defense Minister, led the military operation against Mughrabi, and there are reports of images of him firing shots into her dead body as it lay in the road.[12][21][22]
The attack became known as the Coastal Road massacre. In response, Israel launched Operation Litani against PLO bases in southern Lebanon three days later.
Release of remains
As part of the 2008 Israel-Hezbollah prisoner swap Mughrabi's remains were supposed to be exhumed and returned to Lebanon but that never happened and Mughrabi's remains are still buried in the "numbers cemetery" where the bodies of many Palestinian fighters lay.[23][dead link]
Veneration in Palestinian society
Among Palestinians, Mughrabi is a popular figure that is viewed as a major heroine and martyr in the struggle for the liberation of Palestine.[24][25] According to Palestinian Media Watch, the Palestinian Authority has officially glorified Mugrahbi by naming a public square, computer center, soccer tournament, and summer camp in her honor, among other commemorations.[10][26]
Among Israelis, she is viewed as a terrorist who was responsible for the deadliest terrorist attack in the history of the State of Israel.[19] Israel considers the honoring of Mughrabi to be anti-Israel incitement that "encourages terrorism."[27]
2010 ceremony
In March 2010, the Palestinian Authority delayed a ceremony commemorating Mugrabi on the 32nd anniversary of the Coastal Road attack, reportedly to not antagonize visiting U.S. Vice President Joe Biden. A senior PA security official, however, explained that the ceremony had only been delayed for "technical reasons." The PA had planned to name a square and unveil a memorial plaque in her honor in the city of al-Bireh adjacent to Ramallah.[28][29]
Despite the announced delay, dozens of Palestinian students from Fatah's youth division still gathered at the square, as well as one senior Fatah leader and PA security official. The Fatah official present, Tawfiq Tirawi, "We are all Dalal Mughrabi... For us she is not a terrorist" but rather "a fighter who fought for the liberation of her own land."[10] A few days later, Fatah officials held the official ceremony, inaugurating the planned square in her name. In addition, the PA launched a seminar entitled "Martyr Dalal Mughrabi Camp," to be held in Jericho.[28]
See also
References
- ^ The terrorist list: A-K. Retrieved June 25, 2010.
- ^ The Global War on Your Guns: Inside ... Retrieved June 25, 2010.
- ^ "Richard Cohen - Palestinians' destructive veneration of terrorists". washington post. Retrieved June 25, 2010.
- ^ http://news.yahoo.com/s/usnw/20100314/pl_usnw/DC70175/print
- ^ "Israel Balks as Palestine Honors Militants". CBS News. March 24, 2010. Retrieved June 25, 2010.
- ^ Jacobs, Mindelle (May 9, 2010). "Glorifying murderers only scores points at home | Mindelle Jacobs | Columnists | Comment". Edmonton Sun. Retrieved June 25, 2010.
- ^ "Let me repeat: 'Existential threat'". Star Tribune. March 18, 2010. Retrieved June 25, 2010.
- ^ http://news.yahoo.com/s/uc/20100319/cm_uc_crmchx/op_513317/print
- ^ A World of Trouble: The White House ...
- ^ a b c Isabel Kershner (March 11, 2010). "Palestinians Honor a Figure Reviled in Israel as a Terrorist". The New York Times.
{{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|newspaper=(help) - ^ a b Suicide missions in the Palestinian area: a new database by Luca Ricolfi and Paolo Campana
- ^ a b c d e f g h Israel-Hizbullah prisoner exchange: profiles – Ian Black and Hugh McLeod – The Guardian
- ^ Peteet, Julie (1992), Gender in Crisis: Women and the Palestinian Resistance Movement, Columbia University Press, p. 155
- ^ a b Khitam al Amir (July 15, 2008). "Palestinian Dalal Al Mughrabi's body to be handed over to Hezbollah". Gulf News.
{{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|newspaper=(help) - ^ Tveit, Odd Karsten (1985). Nederlag. Israels krig i Libanon (in Norwegian). Cappelen. p. 23. ISBN 82-02-09346-5.
- ^ a b 'Israelis forced my sister to carry out attack in 1978' – Ali Waked – YNET news
- ^ a b c d Coastal road terrorist: No apologies, [[Haaretz[dead link]]]
- ^ a b c d e f g h i "A Sabbath of Terror", Time magazine, March 20, 1978.
- ^ a b c PA won't honor terrorist, for now by Ali Waked in YNET.
- ^ [1][dead link]
- ^ Israel-Hezbollah prisoner swap – Hugh McLeod – San Francisco Gate
- ^ Who’s who of the prisoner swap – Zahra Hankir and Sharad Venkat – NOW Lebanon
- ^ "Body of female fighter returned". The National Post. July 17, 2008.
- ^ Khitam al Amir (July 15, 2008). "Palestinian Dalal Al Mughrabi's body to be handed over to Hezbollah". Gulf News.
{{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|newspaper=(help)"'Point your guns in only one direction- your enemy – Israel,' exhorted Dalal Al Mughrabi in her final wish just before she laid down her life for Palestine [...] According to her mother, who was speaking to an Arabic TV channel 'Dalal will never be forgotten as she will remain an admirable symbol of the Palestinian women's struggle and an example to be emulated by young Palestinian men and women who will pursue the armed struggle until the liberation of Palestine.'" - ^ PA won't honor terrorist, for now by Ali Waked in YNET: "Al-Mughrabi is a popular figure, considered by the Palestinian public to be a major hero of their struggle, with many legends linked to her name over the years."
- ^ Itamar Marcus and Nan Jacques Zilberdik (March 24, 2010). "The Jerusalem Post". The Jerusalem Post.
- ^ Isabel Kershner (March 11, 2010). "Palestinians Honor a Figure Reviled in Israel as a Terrorist". The New York Times.
{{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|newspaper=(help) - ^ a b Khaled Abu Toameh (March 15, 2010). "Fatah holds ceremony naming square after terrorist". Jerusalem Post.
{{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|newspaper=(help) - ^ "PA cancels ceremony honoring hijacker". JTA. March 11, 2010.