Living under the terror

 Israelis have so much vitality as I rarely witness. Maybe it comes from living under constant threat.

Continuing on my story of Arafat and explain why IDF intervened so many times in Lebanon let me recall some, just some, of the terrorist attacks committed by PLO and its affiliates gathered under Arafat in years leading to civil war in Lebanon and later to first Israeli-Lebanese war. Just… it was not Israeli-Lebanese but rather Israeli-PLO war.

TERROR ATTACKS:

1.       1. Avivim Bus attack. On 22 May 1970 two rocket-propelled grenades shot from both sides of the road in ambush set by PFLP, affiliated at the time with PLO, hit an Israeli school bus killing 12 civilians, 9 of them children, some as young as 7 years old. Five of them from one family! Additional 25 were wounded, some children very hard, one later died from the piece of shrapnel in the brain. When all 3 adults on the bus were killed and the bus crashed terrorists kept shooting at it.

2.      2. Lod airport massacre. On 30 of May 1972 on an international Lod airport in Tel Aviv 3 Japanese Red Army members recruited by Palestinian PFLP opened fire into random persons. 26 have been killed and 80 wounded, among them 17 pilgrims from Puerto Rico, where up till today the day of the massacre is remembered and the memory of murdered celebrated. Among 8 Israelis killed was Aharon Khatzir, internationally renowned biophysicist. All three perpetrators were trained in Lebanon and the plot was made by PFLP. Kōzō Okamoto, the only surviving perpetrator, was sentenced to life imprisonment and 13 years later exchanged for captured Israeli soldiers. He remains in Lebanon still sought after by Japanese authorities.

3.      3. On 11 April 1974 in Kiryat Shmona, close to Lebanese border, 3 PFLP terrorists who crossed border from Lebanon entered elementary school. It was empty due to the Jewish holiday. They proceeded to a block of apartments and killed 18 persons, 8 of them children, whom they also threw from upper balconies before their explosives and rocket propelled grenades pack was hit by Israeli fire and all three were killed.

4.      4. Ma’a lot massacre. On 14 May 1974 3 Palestinian terrorist infiltrated Israel from Lebanon and hijacked van killing two Arab-Israeli women (so much for regards for Arabs), then entered the apartment building, killing a family with a 4-year-old son, wounding their 5-year old daughter and not spearing 7-months pregnant woman. Early in the morning of 15 of May entered Netiv Meir Elementary School taking 115 hostages, 105 of them children. They demanded releasing 23 terrorists. Israeli authorities agreed, but terrorists didn't receive the agreed code from Damascus. Shortly before deadline Israeli commandos attacked, however terrorists killed 25 hostages, including 22 kids with grenades and automatic fire.

5.  5. On Friday, 4th of July 1975, PLO placed refrigerator with 5 kg of explosives in front of the shop in Jerusalem. 15 people were killed. The perpetrator was arrested and sentenced to life and thirty years in prison, but was released by Israel in 2003 after serving 27 years as a gesture to Arafat, who then appointed him his adviser on prisoners affairs rewarding for yet another PLO murder.

6.  6. Finally came Coastal Road Massacre when on 11 March 1978 Fatah and Arafat organized a terrorist attack aimed at dismantling peace process with Egypt (excuse my dark humor, but as everybody knows terrorists love to fight for peace, and if there is peace they would be prevented from fighting for it so they do what they can to prevent it). 11 terrorists who infiltrated from Lebanon hijacked a bus and drove it shooting from it and taking passengers as hostages. Finally 38 people, including 13 children were murdered. 3 days later IDF entered Lebanon in operation Litani to push PLO from the border region...

If If you wonder how one lives under terror here is one Israeli tale (published by him online, thank you, Sir).

 The first incident described is the 5th on the list above the second is the 6th...

 Here is the exception from David Ben-Gershon tale

1.    In 1975 when my 19 year old wife was 9 months pregnant with our eldest daughter she went one morning to a knitting supplies shop in downtown Jerusalem, where we lived at the time, in order to buy yarn to knit a blanket for our unborn child. I was working in a national security service. A terrorist placed a mortar bomb in a refrigerator and left it on a sidewalk in the center of town in front of the huge windows of the knitting shop, and it exploded killing and wounding dozens. I couldn't leave my job and I sent a police car to check on Celina at home and they informed me that our apartment was silent and dark. She didn't answer the phone. She was not listed with the casualties, but there was no sign of her or from her. There was no way for me to know if she was or was not one of the “Jane Does” that filled the hospitals but there was no report of a pregnant Jane Doe, so I took confidence. I arrived at home well after midnight, the apartment was silent and dark, I feared the worst. I opened the door and in the dark I could hear her sobbing and gasping, I turned on the lights and there she was, soaked in blood and body parts. When she saw me she broke down. The gore was from other people that were in the shop. She stuttered that a flaming head hit her, and she ran, pregnant and blood spattered the 3 miles to our home, and stared at the wall until I returned. I carried my pregnant love to the tub after removing her clothes, to wash away the blood, and spent the night holding her. Next day I reported as usual to my job. Our daughter Tali was born less than a month later.

2.    2 years later my son Shaul, our 2nd child, was born, and while Celina was in labor in hospital with me holding her hand a messenger came into the ward with an emergency “number 8” call up orders for me to immediately report for army duty to fight off some terrorists have hijacked a bus full of families on a tour. They murdered 39 civilians. I did my duty, returned home afterwards and missed the birth of my son, and next day I was back at my job as a social worker, life as usual.

3.    During one of the recent Gaza wars(“Pillar of defence”), a missile launched from Gaza hit my married daughters (Nicole, child #4) building in Kiryat Malachi during a phone call with me. I heard the impact and Nicole's screaming on the phone. Her husband was on reserve duty in Gaza, and she was with 2 babies in a shelter less top floor apartment. The missile killed 3 with more family members injured in the apartment next door. Life went on as usual.

4.    During the Protective edge operation my Son Shaul was in the army, my son Doron (child #3) as well, and Shaul's wife delivered my 9th grandchild and a ham-ass missile slammed into Doron’s home in Ashkelon…. Life as usual. I stood and waited for the new arrival on the lawn of the Soroka medical center in Beer Sheva as dozens of med-evac helicopters in what seemed to be an endless convoy brought casualties from the front to the hospital, and I know that Shaul could be in there. Kfir (Lion Cub) was born, and life as usual.

5.    My youngest child (#5) Shir was an army medic during her service. During protective edge she was posted at a field hospital set up for Arab (enemy) civilians injured in the conflict. She phoned me frantic that the Gazans were actually shelling the hospital set up to assist in saving the lives of their wounded! They were preventing their own people, our enemy, from being rescued by us! And life as usual.

There is more, much more, but I will not give more details because enough is enough, but life as usual.

 Below a picture of the hijacked bus

 

 

Yasser Arafat and his PLO - Part 3 (Lebanese civil war)

 

Before his expulsion from Jordan, described in part 2 of these blog entries, Arafat entered into Cairo Accord brokered in 1969 by Egyptian president Gamal Abdel Nasser between PLO represented by Arafat and Lebanese army commander (yes, not Lebanese state) general Emile Boustany. The exact official text of this accord has never been made public, but the unofficial version was published in Lebanese paper in 1970. Under this agreement 16 refugee camps based in Southern Lebanon and housing at the time some 300,000 Palestinian refugees were removed from the jurisdiction of Lebanon, executed by Lebanese Army’s Deuxieme Bureau and put the camps under Arafat’s command. Here a slight digression: in 1948-49 some 100,000 Arabs escaped war to Lebanon, but since Lebanon did not offer them any path to full rights, citizenship or even possibility of entering many professions the problem was growing through subsequent years as – contrary to what one might expect – the number of refugees grew instead of diminish. The first freedoms for the refugees/ emigres were actually proposed in Cairo Accords, and only then have they been given the right to work, reside and move about in Lebanon. But this poor treatment of fellow Arabs had nothing to do with Israel and everything to do with Lebanese wish to show them as victims. The same Cairo Accord has given Palestinians in Lebanon the right to engage in armed actions against Israel. In practice the accord turned Southern Lebanon to a launch pad for attacks against Israel for which Lebanon was blamed but could do nothing to prevent them, as PLO established a state within a state (a role later taken over by Hezbollah). The victim, apart from Israel and Israelis, were local villagers who found themselves living and working the land on what turned to be guerilla-controlled battleground. Their misery was later blamed on Israel but brought on by Palestinian terrorists under Arafat.

The great influx of Palestinian terrorists to Lebanon and the Cairo Accord establishing officially PLO military bases for attacks against Israel destabilized Lebanon and were huge stepping stones towards civil war in Lebanon that started in 1975. Thus, for the third time in his life (but not the last) Arafat brought war and misery to his Arab compatriots and neighbors whom he claimed (always falsely) to represent.

It is worth noting that already in 1968 there were clashes between Lebanese army and PLO and in 1969 Arafat was 3 days late for signing the Cairo Accord as PLO was busy fighting Lebanese army, shooting a helicopter down and killing the Lebanese general.

The Cairo Accord was to remain a top secret. No wonder, if we take into account, that it required Lebanese Army to facilitate the work of the medical, evacuation, and supply centers for guerilla activities to release terrorist detainees and confiscated weapons and for all practical purposes was establishing a state within state (PLO’s in Lebanon). In effect the Lebanese Army gradually lost its control over the scope of the PLO’s armed activities, which widened beyond the areas limited by the agreement. In April 1975 clashes erupted between the PLO and the Lebanese Phalange (Kataeb Party) following the attempt assassination of Sheikh Pierre Gemayel, head of the Kataeb Party. This was an ultimate path to civil war.

This is the text of the Cairo Accord (unofficial, the official one was never published, and voided in 1987 by Lebanese president Amine Gemayel, nevertheless accurate).

It is true that the raids by PLO brought actions by IDF in Southern Lebanon. That was exactly what Arafat was after, but the list of atrocities committed by PLO acting from Lebanese soil in Israel was extensive and could not remain without Israeli reaction. Probably the worst was Ma’alot massacre of school children by terrorists infiltrating from Lebanon.

The October 7 sexual violence against women (and some men) by Hamas and why is it doubted

 Remember Dinah - the biblical figure, Jacob’s only daughter, whose story of rape appears in the Book of Genesis but whose voice was never heard. So is called the new project developed by Israel and supported by UK, showing the weaponizing of sexual violence by Hamas on October 7.  

October 7, 2023 was a terrible day. And this is understatement. After meticulous preparation Hamas and its supporters attacked Israel sending approximately 6,000 terrorists into Israel. The most affected places were: NOVA festival which was taking place close to the Gaza border, few border IDF bases and few kibbutzim near the border. Over 1,100 Israelis have been killed, some 250 taken as hostages. 

Some of the terrorists, who committed unbelievable atrocities were later proved to use Captagon, stimulant drug used often by terrorists and militant groups.  

During the viscous attack many instances of sexual violence took place, as proved by forensic findings,  eyewitnesses tales, returned hostages stories and pictures from the massacre sites. Among findings are the bodies of young women, naked or half-dressed, found tied to trees or poles. Some of these women had been shot in their intimate organs, and in some cases, they had undergone gang rape before being murdered. Eyewitnesses, including survivors who hid in bushes, described cases of attempted rape even after death (after JP 7/6/25). The aim of the project and report that is about to be published is, after independent confirmation of presented facts, to include Hamas on the list of groups using sexual violence as a weapon, alongside organizations like ISIS and Boko Haram.

Such measures are taken because many international experts on violence, like  Samantha Pearson, formerly the director of the University of Alberta Sexual Assault Centre, denied such claims. Samantha Pearson was subsequently fired for endorsing public letter  titled "Stand with Palestine: Call on Political Leaders to End Their Complicity in Genocide!", which denied that Israeli women were subjected to sexual violence by Hamas after UN team finds ground to support reports of sexual violence committed by Hamas on October 7. It saw “credible circumstantial information which may be indicative of some forms of sexual violence, including genital mutilation, sexualized torture or cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment.” That included photos and videos showing a minimum of 20 corpses with clothes that had been torn, revealing private body parts, and 10 bodies with indications of bound wrists and or tied legs. 

All these facts are known for a year and a half, so why now another report and another commission? First, there is more and more evidence, since hostages were returned from captivity. The other reason, and the reason I write about it, is that women organizations, human rights organizations, some sexual violence experts (as shown above) were oftentimes defending Hamas against sexual violence committed during the murderous attack. Even though captured terrorists themselves admitted to such crimes. Evidently "Believe women" cry does not pertain to Israelis.

So what could stand behind it? Apart from open hostility towards Israel, Jews and victims of October 7, apart from slightly covered, if at all, warm feelings  towards Hamas there is one more interesting thing. Israeli society stood behind women victims. They need not be ashamed of being raped, they don't have to hide it. It stands in vast contrast with attitudes towards women raped in Europe or Korea during II world war, raped in Europe during Balkan wars, raped in Congo during many wars in this country (including sexual violence committed by UN troops), raped in Nigeria by Boko Haram...

Maybe staying side by side with Israeli women would validate the question: where were men of the society, society's social services and families of victims in other places?

Maybe the fact that Israel is pursuing justice for victims of sexual crimes shows more than others wish to digest  looking at their own societies? Maybe it is more (hopefully) than simple "serves them right" some of so called experts evidently think. Maybe some reflection may pursue Project Dinah and showing reluctance to stand by victims of sexual abuse by these who also try not to see overwhelming sexual and domestic abuse in types of conservative societies Muslim terrorist groups proclaim. See no evil should never be a way to go.

Here is a link to documentary about sexual crimes committed on October 7.

Yasser Arafat and his PLO - part 2 (Black September)

So far I haven't heard if you'd like some more Yasser Arafat story, please, please let me know. But at least I will tell the story of the Black September.

After 6 days war the major place of PLO activity became so called West Bank, taken from Jordan by Israel as a result of lost, aggressive war by Jordan, as well as Jordan proper. After the war some 300,000 Palestinians made their way to Jordan. King Hussein initially supported Palestinian cause, however not Palestinian terrorism. Jordan's attitude towards Israel and Palestinians was very complicated from the beginning. In July 1950 king Hussein's grandfather - than king Abdullah I - was assassinated by Palestinian terrorist in Jerusalem while visiting Al-Aqsa mosque for "too relaxed attitude towards Israel". Remember, it was barely a year and a half after the War of Independence, in which Jordan fought against Israel, took Jerusalem, displaced Jerusalem Jews, destroyed synagogues, and yet there were rumors that king Abdullah secretly was open to negotiations with Israel which got him killed.

Jordan also had a significant Palestinian minority (though not as significant as some claim it to be), and king Hussein was at the same time willing to offer refugee to fleeing Palestinians and afraid of their influence on Hashemite kingdom. Jordan as the only  Arab country at one point tried to incorporate Palestinian refugees, offering them way to citizenship and not confining them to refugee camps. Nevertheless, trouble was to come soon.

Between 1967 and 1970 PLO and PLA (Palestinian Liberation Army) as well as PFLP (Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine) organized many fedayeen reids on Israel from West Bank and Jordan. King Hussein was not pleased. For once he was not interested in another war, besides all these organizations were leftist and having some Soviet support which he considered - rightly - as a thread to his kingdom. But the real trouble came in 1970. 

Feeling strong and hoping to take over the whole state fedayeen, under unofficial leadership of Arafat, tried to overthrow Hashemite kingdom in June which caused clashes between PLO and other Palestinian terrorists and king's forces. Later, on September 1, they tried to assassin the king which must have brought back memories of his grandfather's fate. A week later PFLP kidnapped four passenger jets, initializing terrorism towards and using civilian airplanes, that we still witness. The four flights were: TWA Flight 741, Swissair Flight 100, Pan Am Flight 93 (this one taken to Cairo) and BOAC flight 775. They also tried to hijack El Al flight but that was prevented by Israeli security. Three flights were diverted to Jordanian small Dawson airstrip and - after removing passengers - blown in the presence of journalists. While most of the hostages were released, all the Israeli, Jewish and some American ones were kept and the release of would be hijackers of the El Al plane was demanded. The blowing of the planes took part on September 12. On September 16 king Hussein declared marshal law and the next day his army struck. 

Palestinians were given some support from Syria and Iraq (both supported by USSR). During the next week Jordanian army with the support of  Pakistan massacred Palestinians killing between 15 and 25 thousand (one week!). Among the experts was a young Pakistani officer who would eventually become chief of Pakistan’s army and president, Zia-ul-Haq. Pakistan had long been close to Jordan, being one of only two countries that had formally recognized the annexation of the West Bank to Jordan (the United Kingdom was the other). Crown Prince Hassan was married to a Pakistani, Princess Sarvath. Palestinians fought back and by the end of September king Hussein, feeling vulnerable, asked for British, American and possibly Israeli assistance.

However soon Jordanian army took control and by early 1971 Palestinian terrorists were removed from Jordan, and, as Syria gave them free passage, relocated to Lebanon, where they started civil war 3 years later.

In 1972 Black September (radical Palestinian terrorist organization, so called after fighting with Jordanians) kidnapped 11 Israeli athletes  and murdered them all.

As you see this self-proclaimed Palestinian fighter (Arafat) and his organization (PLO) was deeply involved in trying to overthrow Hashemite kingdom which gave them asylum.  

Below blowing of the plane on Dawson airstrip.