Historical Dictionary of Terrorism Third Edition

542 • POPULAR FRONT FOR THE LIBERATION OF PALESTINE-GENERAL COMMANDThe PFLP-GC imparted good commando training and used somesophisticated and exotic hardware, such as SA-7 antiaircraft missiles,heavy artillery, ultralight aircraft, and hang gliders. It carried out numerouscross-border assaults as well as operations in Israel’s declared“security zone” in southern Lebanon. Commandos were prepared forsuicide missions in which they are ready to kill themselves ratherthan be captured. In November 1987 a PFLP-GC member infiltratedIsrael by crossing the security zone in a powered hang glider andsucceeded in killing six Israeli soldiers and wounding seven othersbefore he was killed.A favorite tactic of this group has been to seize Israeli civilians orsoldiers as hostages to force the release of Arab prisoners by Israel.On 11 April 1974 three PFLP-GC members seized an apartmentbuilding in Kiryat Shemona, demanding the release of 100 Arab prisonersby Israel. The three killed 18 hostages and injured 16 beforekilling themselves by setting off explosive charges wrapped aroundtheir belts when Israeli soldiers stormed the building. In the case offour Israeli soldiers captured in Lebanon, the PFLP-GC was able tonegotiate their exchange for Arab prisoners, once in March 1979,exchanging one Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) soldier held one yearfor 76 Arab prisoners, and again in May 1985, exchanging three IDFsoldiers held since September 1982 for 1,150 Arab prisoners. ThePFLP-GC cooperated with the Lebanese Hezbollah group in carryingout attacks on Israeli forces in southern Lebanon during the 1980sand early 1990s.On 26 October 1988 West German police raided a PFLP-GC cellin Frankfurt, arresting 14 members and seizing a number of weapons,Semtex explosives, and bomb detonators. Evidence obtained therelinked one of those captured, Hafiz Qassim Dalkamoni, who was alsoa member of the PFLP-GC Central Committee, with two bombingsof U.S. troop trains in Germany in 1987 and 1988. Following the 21December 1988 aerial bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie,Scotland, the PFLP-GC came under suspicion as having been theagent responsible for the action when it was learned that the bombthat destroyed Pan Am 103 was very similar to those assembled bythis one PFLP-GC cell. While the bomb may have been assembledby the PFLP-GC, this alone did not mean the group itself planted thebomb on the doomed airplane, and suspicion for that act was latershifted to Libyan state agencies.