Force 17 was an elite Palestinian group dedicated to protecting Yasser Arafat and other members of the Fatah movement involved with the PLO and was formed in 1969. Though used originally for protecting leaders, in the late 1980's operations turned into terrorist attacks against Israel and surrounding nations. While claiming responsibility for several mass casualty terrorist attacks, no known involvement with large scale terrorism is known. Most attacks took place in Gaza and the West Bank.[1]
History
editForce-17 was an important Palestinian armed group from the early 1970s through 1993. The force, commanded by Abu Tayyib for two decades, served not only as security guards for Fatah leaders including Arafat, but was also Arafat's personal intelligence and counter-terrorist service, mainly against internal rivals and other Palestinian commanders and factions. There are many myths about the origin of the group's name. One of the more famous theories has been the fact that during the 1970s its headquarters was located at 17 Faqahani Street in Beirut, where in those days the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) had a major presence.[1] Force 17 was the main operative force after Palestine and Israel began to cut ties in the late 1970's.
Leadership
edit
1969-1972: Ali Hassan Salameh was the founder of Force 17. Married to the Lebanese beauty queen who was crowned Miss Universe. Salameh was assassinated in 1979.[2]
1972-1994: Abu Tayyib
1994-2000: Yasser Arafat
2000-2006: Faysal Abu-Sharkh[3]
2006-2007: Muhammad Islim[3]
Funding
editForce 17 received monetary aid from the United States of America. The PLO also provided secondary monetary support.[4] Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein, a donor of the PLO and Arafat movement donated training bases and supplies along with specailized training.[4]
Training
editClaimed to be "the best trained of the dozen or so overlapping security organizations operating under the Palestinian Authority's control".[5]
Size
editAt peak, Force 17 had an estimated 3,500 operatives. These operative were scattered in secret bases all through Palestine and surrounding countries.[4]
Weapons
editForce 17 was armed with light weaponry that included armored vehicles. Bombs were the most common form of attack and claimed the most lives during Force 17 attacks.[6] 86 of the 169 confirmed attacks used bombs or some means of explosions.[7]
Clothing
editForce 17 operatives wear military style uniforms customary to the middle east.[1]
Operations
editForce 17 was responsible for conducting patrolling activities on the streets of Palestinian cities and along the border with Israel during their state sponsored protection era.[6]
Governmental Acts
editForce 17 was used to protect Arafat and PLO leaders.[8] The PLO used Force 17 agents to conduct intelligence and counter terrorist services namely against internal rivals and other Palestinian commanders.
Terrorist Acts
editIn late 1988 operations included terrorist attacks against Israeli targets.[8] Since 1984 the Global Terrorism Database (GTD) has logged 169 attacks to Force 17. Areas targeted heavily include the Middle East and South Asia.[7] 54 attacks targeted military employees and property followed by 46 attacks against private citizens.[7]
Confirmed Attacks
editForce 17 claimed responsibility for killing three Israelis in Cyprus on September 25, 1985.[8] In another attack on March 30, 1986, a bomb planted by Force 17 exploded on TWA Flight 840 killing 4 Americans and wounded ten others.[4] In an effort to stop Force 17, Israel fought back with bombings on a Force 17 base is Tunisia. Force 17 continued attacks the following year killing 17 Nagy El-Ali, a political cartoonist that had ties Yasser Arafat.[1]
Timeline
edit1970-1998
editUsed as a governmental entity, mainly intelligence and day to day protection on the Israel border. Force 17 was denoted as a state sponsored protection agency under Yasser Arafat.
1998-2000's
editTerrorist activity came to light in early 1998 when Palestinians accused of collaborating with Israelis on the sale of land in Jerusalem. In at least one case the land dealer Mahmoud Jumhour was interrogated and killed by officer of Force 17.[1] The main involvement in terrorism culminated with verified attacks against Israeli soldiers and civilians. Noted in the Global Terrorism data base attacks have steadily increased through the early 19th century. Force 17 becomes known as a state sponsored terrorist organization in the early 2000's and is put on watch lists around the world.
Downfall
editIn 2007, Force 17 was dismantled and incorporated into the Presidential Guard of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. Several Force 17 operatives have since been appointed leadership roles within the Palestinian Authority (PA).The downfall is partially attributed to increasing violence between Hamas and Fatah. [9]
External Links
editGlobal Terrorism Data Base (https://www.start.umd.edu/gtd/search/Results.aspx?search=Force+17&sa.x=0&sa.y=0&sa=Search)
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- ^ a b c d e "Force-17". www.washingtoninstitute.org. Retrieved 2017-04-18.
- ^ "BBC NEWS | Middle East | What is Force 17?". news.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 2017-05-04.
- ^ a b "Palestinian president appoints new force 17 commander in gaza". BBC Monitoring Middle East. Jun 26, 2006. Retrieved May 5, 2017.
- ^ a b c d "CAMERA: Backgrounder on Force 17". www.camera.org. Retrieved 2017-04-19.
- ^ [news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/5318128.stm "Who are Force 17?"]. Dec 4, 2001. Retrieved May 5, 2017.
{{cite news}}: Check|url=value (help) - ^ a b "Force 17". www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org. Retrieved 2017-04-18.
- ^ a b c "Global Terrorism Database". Retrieved May 5, 2017.
- ^ a b c Pike, John (Aug 8, 1998). "Force 17". Fas.Org.
{{cite web}}:|archive-date=requires|archive-url=(help) - ^ "Force 17". www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org. Retrieved 2017-04-18.