Dalal Mughrabi
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Dalal Mughrabi
Dalal (Arabic: دلال المغربي, Dalāl al-Muɣrabī; ca. 1959 – March 11, 1978) was a Palestinian militant who was a member of the Fatah faction of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and directed the 1978 Coastal Road massacre in Israel. The attack resulted in the death of 37 Israelis. Mughrabi and nine or ten other militants were also killed over the course of the operation. She has been hailed as a martyr and a national hero among Palestinians, while in Israel and the United States she is a figure reviled 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 the Syrians 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.
Rashida al-Mughrabi, interviewed about her sister's participation in the attack, said:
I have no regrets about what my sister did. The Israelis are the ones who forced her to carry out the attack because they expelled us and stole our lands. They caused us a great injustice by turning us into a nation of refugees, and, if it weren't for the occupation, Dalal would never have carried out the attack. Maybe she would have raised a family and pursued a career.
Release of remains
As part of the 2008 Israel-Hezbollah prisoner swap Mughrabi's remains were supposed to be exhumed and returned to Lebanon but that never happened and Mughrabi's remains are still buried in the "numbers cemetery" where the bodies of many Palestinian fighters lay.
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Among Palestinians, Mughrabi is a popular figure that is viewed as a heroine and 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, including a few 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 was the source of some controversy. Initially slated to take place in March 2010 in the city of al-Bireh on the 32nd anniversary of the Coastal Road attack, this would 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." The mayor of el-Bireh declined comment and apparently was not involved.
Though the event was officially delayed, dozens of Palestinian students from Fatah's youth division and a senior Fatah official gathered at the square. A few days later Fatah officials held an official ceremony inaugurating the square in her name. In addition, the PA launched a seminar entitled "Martyr Dalal Mughrabi Camp," to be held in Jericho.
