1976 Yeşilköy airport attack
On 11 August 1976, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine carried out a terrorist attack against Yeşilköy Airport in Istanbul, Turkey, killing four people and injuring 20 more.
1976 Yeşilköy airport attack | |
---|---|
Part of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict | |
Location | Yeşilköy Airport, Istanbul, Turkey |
Date | August 11, 1976 |
Attack type | grenade attack, mass shooting |
Deaths | 4 |
Injured | ~20 |
Victims |
|
Perpetrators | Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine |
Assailants | Mohamed Mehdi and Mohamed Husain al-Rashid |
Incident
The attack occurred as passengers began boarding an El Al Boeing 707[1] destined for Tel Aviv; the last group was being taken to the plane via an airport bus. The perpetrators threw grenades and fired at the non-boarded passengers with submachine guns. The killers killed two Israeli tourists, Ernest Eliash from Petah Tikva and Shlomo Weisbach from Haifa, a Japanese tour guide, Yutaki Hirano, and Harold Wallace Rosenthal, aide to U.S. Senator Jacob Javits.[2][3]
Perpetrators
The terrorists surrendered following a shootout with Turkish police. They identified themselves as Mohamed Mehdi and Mohamed Husain al-Rashid from the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine.[4][5]
Reactions
R-NY Senator Jacob Javits, whose aide Harold W. Rosenthal was killed in the attack, sponsored Senate Resolution 524, "[Urging] the President to direct United States Ambassadors abroad to seek the consideration by foreign governments of suspension of their air service to any foreign nation aiding or abetting terrorism."[6][7]
References
- "El Al Passengers at Istanbul Attacked; Guprrillas Seized". The New York Times. 1976-08-12. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2023-06-22.
- "Forgotten terrorist attack spurs Judeophobic hoax". The Jerusalem Post | JPost.com. Retrieved 2023-06-22.
- "El Al Passengers at Istanbul Attacked; Guprrillas Seized". The New York Times. 1976-08-12. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2023-06-22.
- "Terrorists Kill 3, Wound 24 El Al Passengers at Istanbul Airport; Israel Seeking to Extradite Two". Jewish Telegraphic Agency. 2015-03-20. Retrieved 2023-06-22.
- "Forgotten terrorist attack spurs Judeophobic hoax". The Jerusalem Post | JPost.com. Retrieved 2023-06-22.
- https://www.congress.gov/bill/94th-congress/senate-resolution/524?s=1&r=45
- United States, ed. (1976). Terrorist attack at Istanbul airport: report to accompany S. Res. 524. Report - 94th Congress, 2d session, Senate ; no. 94-1235. [Washington: U.S. Govt. Print. Off.