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Abu-Jihad glorified as a “Martyr” and praised for planning and carrying out terror attacks

Headline: “Abu Jihad – from birth to Martyrdom-death”
      “The teacher and the spiritual father, leader of those passionate about the armed struggle, the first ambassador of the Palestinian people and its cause, keeper of the sacred flame of struggle, ignited by the rifles of the rebels… He threw the first stone and fired the first bullet, and was a man of the [first] Intifada (i.e., Palestinian wave of violence against Israel, 1987-1993) and the Al-Asifa forces (i.e., Fatah's military wing). With a burst of gunfire, Israel ended Abu Jihad’s life and revived him in the hearts of the Palestinians for generations to come.
Martyr leader Khalil Al-Wazir ‘Abu Jihad’ – the first bullet and the first stone:
Among the military operations (i.e., terror attacks) planned by Abu Jihad:
- The explosion at the Zohar reservoir in 1955.
- The operation to blow up the Israeli National Water Carrier in 1965.
- The operation at the Savoy Hotel in Tel Aviv, which killed 10 Israelis, in 1975.
- The blowing up of a truck bomb in Jerusalem in 1975.
- The killing of Albert Levi, the senior sapper, and his assistant, in Nablus in 1976.
- The Dalal Mughrabi operation, in which more than 37 Israelis were killed, in 1978.
- The shelling of the Eilat Port in 1979.
- The Katyusha fire on the northern settlements [in Israel] in 1981.
- The capture of 8 Israeli soldiers in Lebanon and their exchange for 5,000 Lebanese and Palestinian prisoners and 100 of the detainees from occupied territory in 1982.
- The infiltration and bombing of the headquarters of the Israeli military governor in Tyre, leading to the deaths of 76 officers and soldiers, including 12 senior officers, in 1982.
- The war of attrition during the years 1982-1983 in southern Lebanon, and the Dimona Reactor operation in 1988, which was the principle reason for his assassination."

Notes: Bombing of Israel's National Water Carrier - on Jan. 1, 1965, Palestinian terrorists attempted to bomb Israel's National Water Carrier. This was the first attack against Israel carried out by Fatah. Fatah refers to the attack as the “Intilaqa”, meaning “the Launch” of Fatah.

The First Lebanon War – The first Lebanon War began on June 6, 1982 following a long period with numerous PLO attacks against Israel and after terrorists from the Abu-Nidal terror group attempted to assassinate Israeli Ambassador to the UK Shlomo Argov. The war, which was intended as a short-term operation called “Operation Peace for Galilee”, aimed to destroy the militant infrastructure on Israel’s border with Lebanon, lasted until 1985, when Israeli army forces withdrew from Lebanon. Israel suffered more than 1200 fatalities in the war.

Explosion in the Israeli military headquarters building in Tyre - On Nov.11, 1982, during the first Lebanon War, an explosion occurred in the Israeli military headquarters building and led to the death of 91 people, among whom were Israeli soldiers, Israeli Security Services staff, Israeli Border Policemen and Lebanese detainees. It has not been determined whether the explosion resulted from a gas leak or a car bomb.

The capture of 8 Israeli soldiers in Lebanon - On Sept. 4, 1982, 8 Israeli soldiers were captured by Fatah terrorists in Bhamadoun, Lebanon. Two of them were handed to the PFLP and 6 were held by Fatah.  Fatah released the 6 soldiers on Nov. 23, 1983 as part of an exchange deal in which Israel released 4,700 terrorists that were held in Lebanon and 65 terrorists held in Israel. The PFLP released the two soldiers, as well as an additional Israeli soldier that had been captured previously, on May 21, 1985 as part of an exchange deal in which Israel released 1150 terrorists.

Savoy terror attack - In March 1975, eight terrorists traveled by boat from Lebanon to a Tel Aviv beach. They took over the Savoy Hotel and took guests as hostages. The next morning, Israeli forces attacked and killed seven of the terrorists. Eight hostages and three soldiers were killed by the terrorists during the attack.

Attack with truck bomb (or “the refrigerator bombing”) - A refrigerator filled with explosives was detonated on a truck in Jerusalem in 1975. 15 people were killed and over 60 wounded. The attack was orchestrated by Arafat’s advisor and Fatah Revolutionary Council member Ahmad Jabarah Abu Sukkar.

Albert Levy was an Israeli police sapper. He was called to dismantle an explosive device on B'nai Brith Street in Jerusalem on April 28, 1976, along with Israeli police officer Shmuel Schiff. The device, which was booby trapped, exploded, and Levy and Schiff were murdered.

Coastal Road Massacre - In March 1978, a group of Fatah terrorists from Lebanon led by Dalal Mughrabi hijacked a bus on Israel's Coastal Highway. Confronted by the Israeli army, the terrorists killed many of the passengers on the bus, in total 37 civilians,12 of them children, and wounded more than 70. The attack, orchestrated by arch-terrorist Abu Jihad (Khalil Al-Wazir), is known in Israel as the Coastal Road Massacre

Mothers’ Bus attack – On March 7, 1988, Muhammad Abd Al-Qader Muhammad Issa, Muhammad Khalil Saleh Al-Khanafi, and Abdallah Abd Al-Majid Muhammad Kallab hijacked a bus carrying workers to the Negev Nuclear Research Center in Dimona, and murdered 3 of its passengers – Miriam Ben-Yair, Rina Shiratky and Victor Ram. The attack is referred to as the Mothers' Bus attack because many of the passengers were working mothers. The terrorists were all killed by an Israel Police counter-terrorism unit that stormed the bus.

Attack on “the northern settlements” - From 1978 to 1981, the PLO (Palestine Liberation Organization) continuously fired rockets from Lebanon at Northern Israel, after the UN and the South Lebanon Army created a buffer zone between Israel and Lebanon that stopped terrorists’ infiltrations into Israel.

Abu Jihad (Khalil Al-Wazir) was a founder of Fatah and deputy to Yasser Arafat. He headed the PLO terror organization's military wing and also planned many deadly Fatah terror attacks. These attacks, which killed a total of 125 Israelis, included the most lethal in Israeli history - the hijacking of a bus and killing of 37 civilians, 12 of them children.



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