“
...in 2003, Thai authorities intercepted a plot by the Jemmah Islamiyya group to down an El Al jet taking off or landing from Bangkok International Airport...”
Conclusion The Arab-Israeli conflict had a greater direct affect on aviation security in the decades prior to the 2nd Intifada, in the 1970s and 1980s, than in the past 10 years. In fact the first MANPAD attempts against a civilian aircraft occurred against El Al jets in Europe – in Rome in 1973 and Paris in 1975, both unsuccessful. It was the hijackings by Palestinian terrorists
in the early 1970s that led to the standard aviation security procedures, which are deployed to this day (which have been significantly enhanced following 9/11 and subsequent plots) and El Al systematically deployed sky marshals long before the US Transport Security Administration did following 9/11. Notable attacks include the 1968 hijacking of El Al flight 462 from Rome to Tel Aviv, by the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), which diverted the plane to Algiers and held the hostages for 40 days; the Dawson’s Field hijackings by the PFLP in 1970; the 1976 hijacking of Air France flight 139, diverted to Entebbe in Uganda and the 1986 failed attempted by Jordanian Nezar Hindawi to blow up an El Al flight from London to Tel Aviv using his duped girlfriend to unwittingly carry the bomb on board. As aviation security countermeasures
increased, and as the attacks against aviation – although successful in gaining the Palestinian cause publicity and instilling high-impact ‘terror’
in the Israel-friendly West – were relatively unsuccessful in gaining the perpetrators, namely the PFLP and Palestine Liberation Organisation, what they wanted, hijacking became a less feasible and less attractive option for Palestinian militants. Even though Israel has taken more severe measures against the Palestinian Territories in recent years, this has not led to terrorist attacks against aviation, either directly against Israel or against other targets in the name of Palestine. However, until a full settlement to the
conflict is successfully negotiated and accepted by all parties, groups such as al-Qaeda and its affiliates will be able to continue to use it as a propaganda tool, to justify their murderous acts and to radicalise young Muslims into joining their ranks and carrying out future attacks against aviation.
The author is a freelance journalist, who is the current Editor of “Counter Terror Gazette” and former Managing Editor of “The Arab”.
Plsiin e poes o aa Itrainl Arot lo t te dmg fe sal ros uig bldzr oe u h adn ti n 4h Dcme 01 Cei: A ht/arn eor)
aetna mlye f Gz nentoa ipr ok a h a ae atr Irei top sn uloes tr p te lnig srp o t ee br 20. ( rdt P PooLuet Rbus
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August 2010 Aviationsecurityinternational
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