Dalal Mughrabi

Dalal Mughrabi (دلال المغربي, Dalāl al-Muɣrabī; ca. 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. Mughrabi and nine or ten other militants were also killed in the course of the operation. She has been hailed as a martyr and a national hero among Palestinians, while in Israel she is seen as a terrorist.

Early life
Mughrabi was born and raised in the Palestinian refugee camp of Sabra in Beirut, Lebanon. Her father's family home prior to the 1948 Palestine war was in Jaffa, Palestine. Her mother was Lebanese.

Originally educated as a nurse, Dalal 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.

Coastal Road massacre


Mughrabi was part of a group of a dozen or so Palestinian and Lebanese militants who landed on March 11, 1978, on the coastal plain near Tel Aviv. Mughrabi allegedly led the group, though reports differ. The timing was aimed at scuttling peace talks between Menachem Begin and Anwar Sadat, and the intent to "kill as many Israelis as possible", according to one source, though other sources state the goal was to attack the ministry of defence in Tel Aviv or to "reach the Knesset and demand the release of Palestinian prisoners."

An early casualty was an American photographer named Gail Rubin, The militants opened fire at passing traffic and hijacked a taxi, killing its occupants. They seized a bus and headed to Tel Aviv, and then hijacked another bus, moving the hostages (now numbering 71) to the first bus.

Israeli forces stopped the bus, and a shooting battle ensued before it exploded. During the shootout Mughrabi allegedly raised the Palestinian flag and declared the establishment of a Palestinian state. 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. A total of 38 Israelis, including 13 children, were killed and 72 were wounded; Mughrabi and nine other militants died as well. According to Hugh Macleod, a British journalist, there are reports of images of Ehud Barak, then an officer in the Sayeret Matkal anti-terrorism unit and possibly a leader in the rescue operation, firing shots into Mughrabi's dead body as she lay on the road.

Release of remains
As part of the 2008 Israel-Hezbollah prisoner swap Mughrabi's remains were supposed to be exhumed and returned to Lebanon. Dalal was buried in a "cemetery for enemy dead" but the IDF apparently could not locate the body due to underground currents moving the coffins in the cemetery. Dalal's sister said to Ma'an News Agency that the family received a coffin that contained "just dirt and stones".

Commemoration and martyrhood
Among Palestinians, Mughrabi is viewed as a martyr in the struggle for the liberation of Palestine. Among Israelis, she is viewed as a terrorist who was responsible for the deadliest terrorist attack in the history of the State of Israel.

Numerous Palestinian sites and institutions, some inaugurated by the Palestinian Authority, bear her name, including a public square, a computer center, soccer tournament, and summer camp. The dedication of the public square 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. Public condemnation came from Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel's Prime Minister, who said the honoring of Mughrabi was anti-Israel incitement that "encourages terrorism", and United States Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, who said such actions were "provocations... needlessly inflaming tensions and imperiling prospects for a comprehensive peace." Dozens of Palestinian teenagers from Fatah's youth division and a senior Fatah official gathered at the square.

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.

In addition, the PA launched a seminar called "Martyr Dalal Mughrabi Camp," to be held in Jericho.