Official PA Daily praises terrorist Abu Jihad, responsible for the murder of 125 people
Headline: “33 years since the murder of the Prince of Martyrs Abu Jihad”
“Today, April 14, [2021,] is the 33rd anniversary of the death as a Martyr of commander Khalil Al-Wazir ‘Abu Jihad’ (i.e., terrorist, responsible for the murder of 125 people), the deputy general commander of the revolution forces and engineer of the first Intifada (i.e., Palestinian wave of violence and terror against Israel, approximately 200 Israelis murdered, 1987-1993), who was murdered by the Israeli Mossad (Israeli Secret Intelligence Service) in his home in Tunis [the capital of Tunisia] led by former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak…
Among the military operations (i.e., terrorist attacks) that Abu Jihad planned: the Zohar reservoir bombing (i.e., near Beit Hanoun in Gaza) in 1955; the operation to blow up the Israeli National Water Carrier pipelines (Eilabun tunnel) in 1965; the Savoy Hotel operation in Tel Aviv and the killing of 10 Israelis (sic., 11) in 1975; the operation to blow up a truck bomb in Jerusalem (15 murdered –Ed.) in 1975; the operation to kill Albert Levy, 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 operation to shell the Eilat Port in 1979; and the Katyusha fire on the northern settlements in Israel in 1981.
Israel also held Martyr [Abu Jihad] responsible for the capture of 8 Israeli soldiers in Lebanon, and their exchange for 5,000 Lebanese and Palestinian prisoners and 100 of the detainees of the lands occupied in 1982 (sic., Israel released 4,700 terrorists held in Lebanon and 65 terrorists held in Israel). In addition, he also planned the infiltration of the headquarters of the Israeli military governor in Tyre and its bombing, leading to the deaths of 76 officers and soldiers, including 12 senior officers, in 1982; he led the war of attrition during the years 1982-1984 in southern Lebanon; and he planned the Dimona Reactor operation (i.e., Mothers’ Bus attack, 3 murdered) in 1988, which was the principal reason for his assassination.”
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 in the 1960’s - 1980’s. These attacks, in which a total of 125 Israelis were murdered, included the Coastal Road attack that (until Oct. 7, 2023) was the most lethal in Israeli history - the hijacking of a bus and murder of 37 civilians, 12 of them children.
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.
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 (sometimes called the refrigerator bombing) - Attack at Zion Square in the center of Jerusalem with a truck carrying a refrigerator filled with explosives on July 4, 1975. 15 people were murdered and over 60 wounded. The attack was orchestrated by Arafat’s advisor on prisoner affairs and Fatah Revolutionary Council member Ahmad Jabarah Abu Sukkar, who was sentenced to life in prison plus 30 years, but was released from prison after 28 years as part of a goodwill gesture from Israel to the PA in 2003. He died of a heart attack in 2013 in the PA.
Albert Levy was an Israeli police sapper. In April 1976 he was called to dismantle an explosive device on B'nai Brith Street in Jerusalem. The device, which was booby trapped, exploded and Levy was killed.
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 murdered 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.
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.
The capture of 8 Israeli soldiers in Lebanon – Eight Israeli soldiers were captured by Fatah terrorists in Bhamadoun, Lebanon on Sept. 4, 1982. Two of them were handed to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (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 two handed over to the PFLP were released on May 21, 1985, as part of an exchange deal in which Israel released 1,150 terrorist prisoners.
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.
Mothers’ Bus attack – 3 Israelis – Miriam Ben-Yair, Rina Shiratzky, and Victor Ram – were murdered when the bus they were on that was carrying workers to the Negev Nuclear Research Center in Dimona was hijacked by Palestinian terrorists Muhammad Abd Al-Qader Muhammad Issa, Muhammad Khalil Saleh Al-Khanafi, and Abdallah Abd Al-Majid Muhammad Kallab on March 7, 1988. 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.