| Coastal Road massacre | |
|---|---|
 The charred remains of the hijacked Egged coach, at the Egged museum in Holon. |
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| Location | Coastal Highway near Tel Aviv |
| Date | March 11, 1978 |
| Weapon(s) | Various weapons, possible grenade |
| Death(s) | 38 on the bus Several others nearby |
| Perpetrator | Palestinian Liberation Organization - Fatah |
The Coastal Road Massacre of 1978 was a attack involving the hijacking of a bus on Israel's Coastal Highway in which 38 Israeli civilians were killed, 13 of them children, and 71 were wounded.[1][2] The attack was planned by Abu Jihad[3] and carried out by the PLO faction Fatah. The plan was to hijack the bus to Tel Aviv, seize a luxury hotel and take tourists and foreign ambassadors hostage in order to exchange them for Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.[4] The timing was aimed at scuttling peace talks between Menachem Begin and Anwar Sadat.[5] Time magazine claimed that the attackers' intent was to "kill as many Israelis as possible."[5] Fatah called the hijacking "Operation of the Martyr Kamal Adwan,"[6] after PLO chief of operations killed in the Israeli commando raid on Beirut in April 1973.[7][8] In response, the Israeli military forces launched Operation Litani against PLO bases in Lebanon three days later.
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On the morning of March 11, 1978, 11 Palestinian militants including Dalal Mughrabi[9] landed by Zodiac boats on a beach near Ma'agan Michael north of Tel Aviv, having departed from Lebanon with a stash of Kalashnikov rifles, RPG light mortars and high explosives. They killed an American photographer Gail Rubin who was taking nature photographs on the beach after learning their location from her.[10] They then walked less than a mile up to the four-lane highway, opened fire at passing cars and hijacked a white Mercedes taxi.[5]Setting off down the highway toward Tel Aviv, they hijacked a bus carrying Egged bus drivers and their families on a day outing, on the Coastal Highway.
During the ride, the militants shot and threw grenades at passing cars, shot at the passengers and threw at least one body out of the bus.[5] At one point they commandeered another bus, and forced the passengers from the first bus to board the second one.[5] The bus was finally stopped by a police roadblock near Herzliya, and a long shooting battle ensued.[5] Passengers who attempted to escape were shot.[5] Time magazine speculated that more hostages may have been killed by the wild shooting of the police than by the terrorists."[10] An explosion, caused either by an exploding fuel tank, or a grenade set the bus on fire.[11] Thirty-eight civilians were killed in the attack, thirteen of them children, and seventy-one were wounded.[12]
The Israeli security forces handling of the incident, including the final gun battle at the blockade where the bus was stopped,[5][10] led to widespread criticism in Israel. The security forces were also criticized for the fact that the militants were reportedly able to land undetected in broad daylight, and then move inland to ambush a taxi and then the two buses. There was also criticism that the security forces did not immediately block off the highway as soon as they were aware that a bus with hostages aboard had been hijacked.[13]
The attack triggered the Israeli Operation Litani against PLO bases in Lebanon three days later.
Palestinian Media Watch, an Israeli NGO that monitors antisemitism and support for terrorism in Palestinian society, cites examples of Palestinian media that regard Dalal Mughrabi as a heroine and role model.[14] A Hebron girls' school was briefly named in honor of Mughrabi but the name was changed after it emerged that USAID was funding the school. Her name has also been given to summer camps and both police and military courses.[15]
On July 5, 2008 Al-Jazeera TV dedicated a program to Dalal al-Maghrabi. In the program, the host glorified the Coastal Road Massacre in which al-Maghrabi and eleven other terrorists murdered a total of 36 Israelis, and declared that "Heroism transcends the gender divide".[16] The Al-Jazeera director-general subsequently apologised.[17]
During the 2008 Israel-Hezbollah prisoner swap there were reports that her remains had been exhumed (notably by British Journalist Robert Fisk[18]) and transferred to Lebanon, however these claims (like others in Fisk's article) were false.[19]
Schools and roads have been named after Mughrabi in the West-Bank.[20]
Coordinates: 32°8′52.64″N 34°48′11.35″E / 32.1479556°N 34.8031528°E
| Coastal Road massacre | |
|---|---|
| Location | Coastal Highway near Tel Aviv |
| Date | March 11, 1978 |
| Weapon(s) | Various weapons, possible grenade |
| Death(s) |
38 on the bus Several others nearby |
| Belligerent | Palestinian Liberation Organization - Fatah |
The Coastal Road massacre of 1978 was an attack involving the hijacking of a bus on Israel's Coastal Highway in which 38 Israeli civilians, including 13 children, were killed, and 71 were wounded.[1][2] The attack was planned by Abu Jihad[3] and carried out by the PLO faction Fatah. The plan was to hijack the bus to Tel Aviv, seize a luxury hotel and take tourists and foreign ambassadors hostage in order to exchange them for Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.[4] The timing was aimed at scuttling peace talks between Menachem Begin and Anwar Sadat.[5]
Time Magazine characterized it as "the worst terrorist attack in Israel's history".[5] Fatah called the hijacking "Operation of the Martyr Kamal Adwan,"[6] after the PLO chief of operations killed in the Israeli commando raid on Beirut in April 1973.[7][8] In response, the Israeli military forces launched Operation Litani against PLO bases in Lebanon three days later.
Contents |
On the morning of March 11, 1978, 11 Palestinian militants including Dalal Mughrabi[9] landed by Zodiac boats on a beach near Ma'agan Michael north of Tel Aviv, having departed from Lebanon with a stash of Kalashnikov rifles, RPG light mortars and high explosives. They killed American photographer Gail Rubin, who was taking nature photographs on the beach, after learning their location from her.[10] They then walked less than a mile up to the four-lane highway, opened fire at passing cars and hijacked a white Mercedes taxi.[5] Setting off down the highway toward Tel Aviv, they hijacked a bus carrying Egged bus drivers and their families on a day outing, on the Coastal Highway.
During the ride, the militants shot and threw grenades at passing cars, shot at the passengers and threw at least one body out of the bus.[5] At one point they commandeered another bus, and forced the passengers from the first bus to board the second one.[5] The bus was finally stopped by a police roadblock near Herzliya, and a long shootout ensued.[5] Passengers who attempted to escape were shot.[5] Time Magazine speculated that more hostages may have been killed by the wild shooting of the police than by the terrorists."[10] An explosion, caused either by an exploding fuel tank or a grenade, set the bus on fire.[11] Thirty-eight civilians were killed in the attack, thirteen of them children, and seventy-one were wounded.[12]
According to some 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 on the road.[13][14][15]
The Israeli security forces handling of the incident, including the final gun battle at the blockade where the bus was stopped,[5][10] led to widespread criticism in Israel. The security forces were also criticized for the fact that the militants were reportedly able to land undetected in broad daylight, and then move inland to ambush a taxi and then the two buses. There was also criticism that the security forces did not immediately block off the highway as soon as they were aware that a bus with hostages aboard had been hijacked.[16]
In a statement to the press delivered the following day, Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin stated, "They came here in order to kill the Jews. They intended to take hostages, and threatened, as the leaflet they left said, to kill all of them if we do not surrender to their demands... We shall not forget. And I can only call upon other nations not to forget that Nazi atrocity that was perpetrated upon our people yesterday."[17]
Speaking to the Knesset on March 13, Begin said, "Gone forever are the days when Jewish blood could be shed with impunity. Let it be known: The shedders of innocent blood shall not go unpunished. We shall defend our citizens, our women, our children. We shall sever the arm of iniquity."[18]
On March 15, three days after the massacre, Israel launched Operation Litani against PLO bases in southern Lebanon. The IDF spokesman stated, "The objective of the operation is not retaliation for the terrorists' crimes, for there can be no retaliation for the murder of innocent men, women and children - but to protect the state of Israel and its citizens from incursions of members of the Fatah and PLO, who use Lebanese territory in order to attack citizens of Israel."[19]
The President of the United States, the Prime Minister of Great Britain and the Secretary General of the United Nations sent messages of condolence to Israel.[17] ]]
Palestinian Media Watch, an Israeli NGO that monitors antisemitism and support for terrorism in Palestinian society, cites examples of Palestinian media that regard Dalal Mughrabi as a heroine and role model.[20] A Hebron girls' school was briefly named in honor of Mughrabi but the name was changed after it emerged that USAID was funding the school. Her name has also been given to summer camps and both police and military courses.[21]
During the 2008 Israel-Hezbollah prisoner swap, Israel intended to transfer her body to Hezbollah, however DNA testing showed that it was not among the exhumed corpses.[22]
Several locations under Palestinian Authority control have been named after Mughrabi.[23]
Coordinates: 32°8′52.64″N 34°48′11.35″E / 32.1479556°N 34.8031528°E
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