Historical Dictionary of Terrorism Third Edition

SYRIAN SOCIAL NATIONALIST PARTY • 653SYRIAN SOCIAL NATIONALIST PARTY (SSNP). The al-Hizbas-Suri al-Qawmi al-Ijtima’i, or SSNP, was a Lebanese ethnonationalistmilitia dedicated to the incorporation of Lebanon into “GreaterSyria,” encompassing all of Syria, Jordan, Israel, much of Iraq andTurkey, and the island of Cyprus. The SSNP was founded in November1932 by a Lebanese Christian intellectual, Antun Sa’adeh,as a right-wing political party modeled on the German Nazi party,whose core members were largely derived from Antiochian OrthodoxChristian backgrounds. Suppressed by the Lebanese governmentafter an unsuccessful coup attempt in 1961, it eventually evolved intoa militia under Syrian state sponsorship with an anti-Israeli and anti-Western agenda similar to those of the Palestinian terrorist groupsunder Syrian control.The SSNP undertook many terrorist attacks in the 1980s, includingthe bombing of the Phalangists’ Beirut headquarters, killingpresident-elect Bashir Gemayel on 14 September 1982. The SSNPalso specialized in car-bombing attacks against Israeli targets insouthern Lebanon. The SSNP recruited young Arab women, oftenpregnant out of wedlock, whom they indoctrinated to become suicidebombers. The Syrian state broadcasting service often airedvideotaped political testaments of such bombers the day after theyaccomplished their mission. By 1987 the Israeli Defense Forces hadcome to view the SSNP suicide car bombers as much more lethalthan the Hezbollah suicide car bombers. The SSNP is also believedto be responsible for the bombing of Trans World Airlines (TWA)Flight 840 from Rome to Athens on 2 April 1986, which resulted inthe deaths of only four passengers since the pilot was able to landthe plane despite the damage caused by the bomb.In 1987 the SSNP split into two factions and experienced internecineconflict until 2000, when the factions reunited under Syrianpressure and joined forces with Hezbollah and Amal in attacks onIsrael Defense Forces units in southern Lebanon. In 2005 the SSNPregained legal recognition and participated in the 29 May–20 June2005 Lebanese parliamentary elections, in which it won two seats inthe National Assembly as part of the Resistance and DevelopmentBloc as a coalition partner along with Amal and Hezbollah. TheSSNP also has a branch within Syria, where it participates in politicsas a junior coalition partner with the Syrian Ba’thist Party. The groupis no longer considered an active terrorist organization.