Dalal Mughrabi
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Dalal Mughrabi (Template:Langx, Template:Transliteration; c. 1959 – 11 March 1978) was a Palestinian militant who was a member of the Fatah faction of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and participated in the 1978 Coastal Road massacre in Israel. The attack resulted in the death of 38 Israeli civilians, including 13 children.<ref name="nyt">Template:Cite news</ref> Mughrabi and eight other militants were also killed in the course of the operation.<ref name=Ricolfi>Suicide missions in the Palestinian area: a new database Template:Webarchive by Luca Ricolfi and Paolo Campana</ref><ref name=Guardian>Template:Cite news</ref> While she has been hailed as a martyr and a national hero among many Palestinians,<ref>Template:Citation</ref><ref name="AP 2010-03-24">Template:Cite news</ref> Israel and the United Nations have described her as a terrorist.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="nyt"/><ref name="ToI201705"/><ref name="Ynetnote"/>
Early life
Mughrabi was born and raised in the Palestinian refugee camp of Sabra in Beirut, Lebanon.<ref name=Amir>Template:Cite news</ref> Her father was a Palestinian refugee whose family home prior to the 1948 Palestine war was in Jaffa, Palestine. Her mother was Lebanese.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
Originally educated as a nurse, Mughrabi decided to devote her life to politics when the Lebanese Civil War broke out in 1975. She joined Fatah and began working within the organization's communications service. She took part in the fighting against the Syrian army in the mountains southeast of Beirut when Syrian forces entered Lebanon in 1976 to assist the Phalangists and their allies. In 1977 she completed a three-month training course attaining her the rank of lieutenant. She was offered a post in Italy by Fatah as political officer working at the PLO office, but she declined choosing instead a military career.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
1978 operation
Template:Main Mughrabi was part of a group of eleven Palestinian and Lebanese militants who landed on March 11, 1978, on the coastal plain near Tel Aviv.<ref name=Guardian/><ref name=Amir/> Mughrabi allegedly led the group, though reports differ.<ref name=haaretz>Template:Cite news</ref> The timing was aimed at scuttling peace talks between Menachem Begin and Anwar Sadat,<ref name=Sabbath>Template:Cite news</ref> and the intent was to attack the ministry of defence in Tel Aviv<ref name=Guardian/> or to "reach the Knesset and demand the release of Palestinian prisoners"<ref name=Waked>Template:Cite web</ref> or to "kill as many Israelis as possible".<ref name=Sabbath/>
Murder of Gail Rubin
Landing at the beach, Mughrabi's group met American photographer Gail Rubin, who was taking nature photographs on the beach, and asked her where they were, after which they killed her.<ref name="tragedy">Template:Cite news</ref> Both surviving members of the group later confirmed that it was Mughrabi who killed Rubin,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> who was the niece of US Senator Abraham A. Ribicoff.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Hijacking
The militants opened fire at passing traffic and hijacked a taxi, killing its occupants.<ref name=Sabbath/> They seized a bus and headed to Tel Aviv,<ref name=haaretz/><ref name=Sabbath/> and then hijacked another bus, moving the hostages (now numbering 71) to the first bus.<ref name=Sabbath/>
Israeli forces stopped the bus, and a shooting battle ensued before it exploded.<ref name=Guardian/><ref name=Sabbath/><ref name=Ynet/> During the shootout Mughrabi allegedly raised the Palestinian flag and declared the establishment of a Palestinian state.<ref name=Guardian/> Israel says the bus exploded after Mughrabi blew it up with a grenade, while Palestinians say it was struck by fire from an Israeli helicopter gunship.<ref name=Guardian/><ref name=Sabbath/> A total of 38 Israelis, including 13 children, were killed and 72 were wounded; Mughrabi and eight other militants died as well.<ref name="Ricolfi"/><ref>Template:Cite newsTemplate:Dead link</ref>
Release of remains
As part of the 2008 Israel–Hezbollah prisoner exchange, Mughrabi's remains were supposed to be exhumed and returned to Lebanon. She was buried in a "cemetery for enemy dead" but the Israel Defense Forces apparently could not locate the body due to underground currents moving the coffins in the cemetery.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Mughrabi's sister told Ma'an News Agency that the family received a coffin that contained "just dirt and stones".<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Commemoration as a martyr
Among many Palestinians, Mughrabi is viewed as a martyr in the struggle for the liberation of Palestine.<ref name=Amirnote>Template:Cite news "'Point your guns in only one direction - your enemy – Israel', exhorted Dalal Al Mughrabi in her final wish just before she laid down her life for Palestine... According to her mother, who was speaking to an Arabic TV channel, 'Dalal will never be forgotten as she will remain an admirable symbol of the Palestinian women's struggle and an example to be emulated by young Palestinian men and women who will pursue the armed struggle until the liberation of Palestine.'"</ref><ref name=Ynetnote>PA won't honor terrorist, for now by Ali Waked in YNET: "Al-Mughrabi is a popular figure, considered by the Palestinian public to be a major hero of their struggle, with many legends linked to her name over the years."</ref> Among Israelis, she is viewed as a terrorist responsible for one of the deadliest terrorist attacks in the history of the State of Israel.<ref name=Ynet>Ali Waked, PA won't honor terrorist, for now, ynetnews.com; accessed 10 March 2018.</ref>
Numerous Palestinian sites and institutions, some inaugurated by the Palestinian Authority, bear her name, including a public square, schools, a computer center, a soccer tournament, and a summer camp.<ref name="nyt"/><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
The dedication of the public square in the city of al-Bireh was controversial. It was initially scheduled for March 2010 on the 32nd anniversary of the Coastal Road attack, and would also have coincided with a visit to the region by U.S. Vice President Joe Biden.<ref name="jpost"/><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Public condemnation came from Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel's Prime Minister, who said the honoring of Mughrabi was anti-Israel incitement that "encourages terrorism",<ref name="nyt"/> and United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who said such actions were "provocations... needlessly inflaming tensions and imperiling prospects for a comprehensive peace."<ref name="AP 2010-03-24"/> Dozens of Palestinian teenagers from Fatah's youth division and a senior Fatah official gathered at the square.<ref name="nyt"/>
In March 2011, an official ceremony was held, installing a plaque that depicted Mughrabi cradling a rifle against a map of Israel, the West Bank and Gaza Strip.<ref>Palestinians honor Fatah terrorist, despite Israel's protests, haaretz.com; accessed 10 March 2018.</ref>
In addition, the PA launched a seminar called "Martyr Dalal Mughrabi Camp," to be held in Jericho.<ref name="jpost">Template:Cite news</ref>
In May 2017, the Palestinian Authority via its organisation Women's Affairs Technical Committee (WATC) named a women's center in the town of Burqa after Mughrabi and celebrated her as a role model.<ref name=":0">Template:Cite news</ref>
The center was built with the aid of the government of Norway and UN Women. Norway's Foreign Minister demanded that Norway's funding for the building be repaid and its logo removed from the building. He said that "Norway will not allow itself to be associated with institutions that take the names of terrorists in this way".<ref name="Jpost201705">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="ToI201705">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="NorGov">Template:Cite web</ref>
The United Nations also condemned the naming as "glorification of terrorism" and demanded its logo be removed from the building.<ref name="UN2017">Template:Cite web</ref>
The Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs started its own investigations of WATC and found it had withheld central information about the naming of the centre and terminated the working relationship with WATC. As a result of the findings, Denmark ceased funding 23 other NGOs in Palestine.<ref name=":0"/><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>