by Ann Williams
Meanwhile two more planes had been hijacked. TWA Flight 74, a Boeing 707, took off from Frankfurt, carying 141 passengers and a crew of 10. Swissair Flight 100, a Douglas DC-8, carrying 143 passengers and 12 crew, took off from Zürich Airport and was bound for New York.
Both planes were forced to land at a remote desert airstrip in Jordan, 50 km (30 miles) from Amman, which was known as Dawson’s Field, or Zerqa. The airfield was a base for the British Royal Air Force and it is nicknamed ‘Revolutionary Airport’ after the series of events that took place that September.
NEGOTIATIONS AT DAWSON’S FIELD
By September 7, 1970, several members of the press had made their way to Dawson’s Field to interview the terrorists. The hostages, who had been asked about their religious beliefs, were divided up. The majority, around 310, were transferred to Amman and set free on September 11. Of the remainder, the hijackers segregated the flight crews and any Jewish passengers, keeping 56 people as hostages.
Standing on the sand in front of the media, several passengers and members of crew listened while the members of the PFLP made their demands. They told the press that their aim was:
. . . to gain the release of all of our political prisoners jailed in Israel in exchange for the hostages.
In the United States, the reaction of President Nixon was to bomb the PFLP positions in Jordon, but his Secretary of Defence did not think it was a viable option, and so the idea was dropped. Meanwhile the 82nd Airborne Division were put on standby, the Sixth Fleet took to the sea, and military aircraft flew to Turkey in preparation for a possible military assault.
Back in London, Prime Minister Edward Heath took a completely different view on the situation. He felt the best solution would be to negotiate with the hijackers, agreeing to release Khaled and other prisoners in exchange for the hostages held in Jordan.
The tension mounted between the two countries as they disagreed bitterly about the way to handle the crisis. Fighting had broken out in Amman at the Intercontinental Hotel between the PFLP and the Jordanian forces. The PFLP were holding about 125 women and several children and it appeared inevitable that there was about to be a civil war.
On September 12, the aeroplanes held at Dawson’s Field were blown up in front of the international media. The BBC World Service made an announcement in Arabic on September 13 on behalf of the government, stating that the United Kingdom would release Khaled in exchange for the hostages.
King Hussein complicated the situation even further by asking both Britain and the United States to request Israel to attack any Syrian troops that crossed the border into Jordan in support of the Palestinians. Hussein declared martial law on September 16, which was the start of the military conflict that later became known as the ‘Black September Conflict’.
Jordan managed to gain quick control, however, and a deal was made on September 30, in which the remaining hostages held by the PFLP were released in exchange for the release of Khaled and three other PFLP members.
Lod Airport Massacre
The Red Army fights not merely for the sake of fighting but in order to conduct propaganda among the masses, organize them, arm them and help them to establish revolutionary political power. Without these objectives, fighting loses its meaning and the Red Army loses the reason for its existence.
Mao Tse Tung, December 1929
Ben Gurion International Airport, which was once widely known as Lod Airport, is situated 15 km (9 miles) southeast of Tel Aviv. It is the largest international airport in Israel and is operated by the Israeli Airports Authority, a government-run corporation. Because of the high level of threat from terrorism, security at the airport is regularly scrutinized. However, despite their vigilance, in 1972 the airport was the subject of two terrorist attacks.
The first attack on Lod Airport came on May 9, 1972, when two men hijacked a Sabena Airlines passenger plane. The terrorists held 90 passengers and 10 members of the crew inside the plane for 23 hours, before 12 Israeli soldiers, who were disguised as maintenance workers, stormed the plane and managed to rescue the hostages.
The second attack, which became known as the Lod Airport Massacre, was a joint operation by the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) and the Japanese Red Army (JRA). The JRA is an international terrorist organization formed by a small section of extremists, which carried out revolutionary activities and felonious crimes in an effort to unify the world under the name of communism. It was through their contacts with the PFLP that the JRA managed to set up a base in the Middle East.
This attack, which occurred later the same month on May 30, was carried out by three members of the terrorist group, the JRA. Kozo Okamoto, Tsuyoshi Okudaira and Yasuyuki Yasuda had all been trained by the JRA at their base in Baalbek in Lebanon. They arrived at Lod Airport on board Air France Flight 132, a Boeing 707 jet. Dressed conservatively and carrying slim cases, the three men attracted little attention as they mingled with the remainder of the passengers leaving the plane. Security was always on the lookout for Palestinians, but they did not consider the Japanese as a major threat. Once inside the airport waiting area, the three terrorists grabbed automatic firearms from their carry-on luggage and opened fire on both airport staff and fellow passengers. The airport security staff acted quickly, but before they could get the situation under control 24 people had been killed and a further 78 injured. The majority of the victims were pilgrims who had been on a ten-day trip to the Holy Land. Yasuda was killed by the Israeli security guards. Okudaira, on the other hand, had moved from the airport building onto a landing strip and, after firing at passengers who were disembarking from an El Al aircraft, committed suicide by using a hand grenade. The third member of the JRA, Okamoto, was severely wounded but survived. He was tried by the Israelis and sentenced to life imprisonment.
Kozo Okamoto was released from prison in May 1985 with other prisoners in an exchange bargain with the PFLP. Okamoto quickly fled to Lebanon and lived in Beka’a Valley until he was re-arrested in 1997. In 2000 he was granted political refugee status in Lebanon and eventually disappeared, but he is rumoured to be living somewhere in North Korea.
Today Ben-Gurion Airport is heavily guarded and every passenger is not only thoroughly searched but has to go through vigorous questioning.
Bloody Friday
At one time we were handling 21 bomb scares, 20 of which turn out to be the real thing . . . Manpower was stretched to the limit. On the ground our men had difficulty in controlling crowds of stampeding people in the city centre as bomb after bomb exploded. It was really a nightmare in the true sense of the word.
An RUC officer
In the early part of the 1970s Northern Ireland experienced an explosion of political violence, which peaked in the year 1972, when nearly 500 people lost their lives. One of the causes of this violence was the formation of the Provisional IRA, which was a detachment from the Irish Republican Army (IRA), who were determined to fight against British rule in Northern Ireland. The break-away group soon became known as the ‘Provos’, and they established themselves as a far more aggressive and militant group in defence of their communities. Despite the official IRA’s aims to bring in reform, the Provos continued to use force and the relationship between the Catholic community of Ireland and the British military weakened. The IRA demanded that Britain withdraw from Ireland before the beginning of 1975, but the British Secretary of State, William Whitelaw, did not give in to their demands, and talks broke down.
By 1972, the Provo’s campaign was of such intensity that before the year ended they had killed over 100 soldiers, wounded 500 more and carried out 1,300 explosions. On July 21, 1972, the IRA planted a total of 22 bombs in and around Belfast, in an effort to cause major economic damage. In the resulting explosions, 9 people were killed and a further 130 people were seriously injured on the day that became known as ‘Bloody Friday’.
SEQUENCE OF EVENTS
The events that occurred on ‘Bloody Friday’ were because of a decision m
ade by the IRA to step up their campaign by attempting to disrupt the life of ordinary civilians. Talks had failed miserably between the IRA and the British army, and their temporary ceasefire had now come to an end.
At approximately 2.00 p.m. in Windsor Park, Belfast, a bomb – estimated to be about 14 kg (30 lb) – exploded on a footbridge that went over the top of the Dublin–Belfast railway line. There were no casualties in the resulting explosion.
Another explosion occurred at about 2.30 p.m. at the Brookvale Hotel in north Belfast. The bomb had been planted in a suitcase and had been dumped in the foyer of the hotel by two men. Staff in the hotel were suspicious of the suitcase and evacuated the area, so consequently no one was hurt in the blast.
Every couple of minutes warnings were being issued about other explosive devices that had been planted in and around the city of Belfast.
Just ten minutes after the last explosion, a car bomb exploded outside a branch of the Ulster Bank in north Belfast, only a few hundred metres away from the site of the first explosion. This time the area had not been cleared and a local Catholic woman, who was walking past the car at the time, lost both of her legs. Passing motorists were also injured by the blast, and the result was total traffic chaos.
At around 2.52 p.m., outside the Botanic Railway Station in Belfast, another car bomb exploded. Although there was considerable damage to the building itself, miraculously no one was seriously hurt. One minute later, on the Queen Elizabeth Bridge, Belfast, a third car bomb was detonated and again, although there was minor damage to the structure of the bridge, no one was badly injured.
On Agnes Street, Belfast, at approximately 3.00 p.m. a fourth car bomb went off outside a group of Protestant houses. Although the inhabitants of the street had been given no warning, once again there were no serious casualties. Two minutes later a bomb exploded in the Liverpool Bar in Donegall Quay. Again there was no warning and there were a few casualties. At precisely the same time a bomb exploded on a bridge that crossed the M2 motorway in Bellvue, once again there were no casualties.
The explosions were now coming in quick succession, at only one minute intervals. At 3.03 p.m. a bomb exploded at York Street railway station, at 3.04 a car bomb exploded in Ormeau Avenue and another in Eastwoods Garage, Belfast.
The worst explosion occurred at 3.10 p.m. at the Oxford Street Bus Depot in Belfast, when a car bomb denoted right outside the depot. This one bomb caused the greatest loss of life and number of casualties than any of the other bombs that occurred on that day. Even though a warning had been issued and the area was being cleared, it was still remarkably busy when the Volkswagen car blew up. Two British soldiers were killed instantly along with four Protestant civilians who all worked for the Ulsterbus company.
At 3.15 p.m. a bomb that was believed to have been dumped on Stewartstown Road exploded, but caused no serious injuries.
Five minutes later a large car bomb, estimated to weigh around 23 kg (50 lbs), exploded outside a row of shops near the top end of Cavehill Road in Belfast. Yet again no one had received a warning that a bomb had been planted in the mixed Catholic-Protestant area of town. A Catholic mother of seven was killed in her car and her 11-year-old daughter, who was in the car with her, was badly injured. A 65-year-old Catholic woman also died in the blast, as did a 14-year-old Protestant, and many others received serious injuries.
Two more bombs exploded at about 3.25 p.m., one on Crumlin Road at the Star Garage and the second on the railway line at Lisburn Road, but on these two occasions there were no casualties.
A landmine was detonated at 3.30 p.m. on the road that led to Nutts Corner, just as a bus carrying schoolchildren passed by. The driver managed to miss the worst of the blast by swerving at the last minute which avoided anyone getting seriously hurt. It is thought that the bus could possibly have been mistaken for a British military vehicle.
Another bomb exploded at 3.30 p.m. at the Northern Ireland Carriers depot but no one was hurt. And the final incident of the day was when the British Army successfully diffused a bomb that had been placed on the Sydenham flyover.
OPERATION MOTORMAN
The quick succession of bombs had a profound impact on the people of Northern Ireland and Britain alike. As a direct result of ‘Bloody Friday’ the British Government brought into action ‘Operation Motorman’, which entailed the British Army infiltrating the ‘No-Go’ areas of Belfast and Londonderry.
British troops began to make their move at
4.00 a.m. on July 31, 1972. They knew that this latest mission was dangerous and there was a possibility of heavy casualties if the IRA decided to fight back. It was important to keep the exact details of the operation a secret and the troops moved stealthily. Their aim was to hit the IRA hard, removing their barricades as quickly as possible. They wanted to take control of the area before the majority of the local population had woken up.
More than 21,000 British soldiers moved in successfully and built cordons around the ‘No-Go’ areas. In Londonderry, Royal Engineers had used bulldozers to gain entrance into Rossville and the Creggan Estate, with the support of infantry from four separate battalions. During the seizure one petrol bomber was shot dead, but apart from that there were no casualties and they had made the areas secure before 7.00 a.m.
In Belfast, however, the operation was a little more complicated. It involved 11 battalions, which took over Ligoniel, Ballymurphy, Whiterock, Andersonstown, the Ardoyne, New Lodge, City Centre and Markets, Beechmount and the Falls Road. Although not all of these areas were in the ‘No-Go’ section, the presence of such heavy military stopped any trouble from breaking out. In some of the areas local people even helped the Royal Engineers to dismantle the barricades erected by the IRA.
Operation Motorman was a total success and by the close of the day British security forces had reinstated their right to move freely anywhere within the province, and miraculously without any casualties. The IRA had failed to respond to their actions, realizing that they were completely outnumbered and any action would be completely futile.
RESPONSE FROM THE IRA
People from all over Ireland were calling for peace. They had had enough of the constant fighting and the latest spate of terror attacks had done nothing to endure them to the IRA. In response to Bloody Friday, the IRA stated that it was the authorities that had caused the problems, not them, because they had given adequate warning of the intended bombs and that they did not intend any innocent civilians should get hurt.
The events of Bloody Friday, whichever way you look at it, had far-reaching and serious consequences. It made the members of the Unionist community realize that it was impossible to make any deals with the Catholics. It reinforced the position of the Protestant paramilitaries and once again made them a real force to contend with. It also convinced the British government that it was impossible to make any form of pact with the Republican movement.
UNCONDITIONAL CEASEFIRE
For over 25 years the IRA has fought against British imperialism, trying to drive out the British forces and bring Ireland into a state of unification. After years of bloodshed, with over 3,000 dead and nearly 37,000 people injured, it still seems that their ideals of a having united Ireland are far from being fulfilled. The IRA eventually declared an unconditional ceasefire, which became effective on July 20, 1997.
Following the ceasefire agreement, a political deal was set up aiming to settle the differences between the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland. The Belfast Agreement, also referred to as the Good Friday Agreement, because it was signed on Good Friday, April 10, 1998, was hailed as a major achievement. It held many controversial policies regarding the decommissioning of paramilitary weapons and the future policing of Northern Ireland, but it certainly was a rung in the very long ladder of peace between the two countries.
In July 2005 the IRA made an announcement that they wanted relinquish violence in an effort to settle their disputes and they instructed all of their members help develop the country t
hrough purely political and democratic means. They made a promise to give up all their weapons and their disarmament was overseen by an international mediator. The movements of the IRA are still heavily monitored but in general they seem to be moving along the right path towards peace in Ireland, but occasionally Republic paramilitaries still engage in violent acts.
Munich Massacre
We have no choice but to strike at the terrorist organizations wherever we can reach them. That is our obligation to ourselves and to peace. We shall fulfil the obligation undauntingly.
Golda Meir, september 1972
Even 30 years after the event, the massacre that took place at the Munich Olympic Games is still clearly remembered with horror. It was a prime target for the terrorist group Black September, because it had such an enormous impact as millions of viewers watched the events unfold live in front of their eyes on television.
WHO WERE ‘BLACK SEPTEMBER’?
The massacre at Munich was ordered by Yasser Arafat, Chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) until 2004. Arafat’s faction Fatah, a major Palestinian political party and the largest organization in the Palestine Liberation Organization, gave themselves the name ‘Black September’ in an effort to protect the image of the Fatah and the PLO. The chief commander of Black September and the mastermind behind the Munich Massacre was Abu Daoud, who was known to have had considerable help from the East Germans as well as Eastern European countries in his terrorist negotiations.
SEPTEMBER 5, 1972
Several of the Israeli athletes had been enjoying a night out on September 5, 1972, before returning to the Olympic village. At around 4.30 a.m., five Arab terrorists wearing tracksuits and carrying sports bags, scaled the 2m (6ft 6in) chain-link security fence surrounding the village, helped unwittingly by some American athletes who were also trying to sneak their way back into the grounds without being noticed. Once inside the compound, the terrorists met up with three associates who had managed to gain entrance earlier by using forged credentials. Their sports bags contained guns and grenades and a set of keys they had stolen to gain access to two apartments on 31 Connollystraße, which were occupied by the Israeli athletic team.
