Back to PLO Bulletin 1-15 September 1979

MILITARY OPERATIONS

EXPLOSIVE CHARGE IN JERUSALEM

No. 127/79:

Palestinian commandos operating inside the occupied territories, in their tenth operation in August 1979, placed a highly explosive charge inside the offices of the Israeli Income Tax Department in Salah al-Din Street in East Jerusalem, on August 9. The charge exploded at exactly 11:30 pm, damaging all the furniture in the office and breaking the windows of the building. Israeli security forces immediately closed the street, combed the area for other charges, and searched the houses in the area and arrested a number of Palestinian citizens on the basis of suspicion. Our unit returned safely to base.

No. 128/79:

Palestinian commandos operating inside the occupied territories on August 12 placed a timed high explosive charge inside a military transportation station in Ashkelon. The charge exploded at 7:30 a.m., at rush hour, killing and wounding an unspecified number of Israeli soldiers, and causing heavy material damage to the station and to nearby stores. Radio Israel admitted the operation the next day, and said that the charge was placed in a military bus station. Our unit returned safely to base.

No. 129/79:

A special commando unit operating inside the occupied territories on August 11, placed a timed explosive TNT charge in a military bus station in the French Fill area in Jerusalem. At 11:15 the charge was discovered, and the area was immediately evacuated, but the charge exploded when an explosives expert tried to move it, killing him and wounding two other Israeli soldiers. An arrest campaign followed the explosion and continued for nearly two days. Radio Israel admitted the operation. Our militants returned safely to base.

COMMANDO OPERATION IN TEL AVIV REGION

Israeli police in Tel Aviv search for more explosive charges

No. 130/79:

Palestinian commandos operating inside the occupied territories on August 14 placed timed explosive charges inside military cooperative warehouses in Jerusalem Street in the Bnei Brak settlement, near Tel Aviv. The charges exploded at exactly 12:30 p.m., killing and wounding an unspecified number of Israelis. Heavy material damage was caused to the cooperative building, and its contents as a result of the fire that followed the explosion. Radio Israel admitted the operation and said that the Israeli police are investigating the incident. Our unit returned safely to base.

COMMANDOS DESTROY HAIFA-TEL AVIV RAILWAY LINE

No. 133/79:

A special Palestinian commando unit on August 16 placed timed explosive charges under the Haifa-Tel Aviv railway, near Natanya. The charges exploded at 5.50 a.m., when a military train reached the site, killing and wounding an unspecified number of Israeli soldiers, destroying most of the train's cars and their contents, and damaging large parts of the railway. Radio Israel admitted the operation, and said that the Haifa-Tel Aviv railway was closed as a result of the incident. Our unit returned safely to base.

SEA BATTLE ON JERUSALEM DAY

The Palestine Liberation Front announced on August 19 a predawn seaborne attack by a commando unit on the al-Zeib area in the northern Palestinian coastal region. An Israeli spokesman admitted the operation, saying that a battle took place between the guerillas and the Israeli naval forces, and that the Palestinian guerillas used RPG rockets against Israeli naval units. Three guerillas were captured, and the fourth who was wounded in the clash was believed to have drowned. The PLF issued a communique saying that the raid was meant to coincide with the celebration of the Jerusalem Day. The group, code-named "Tal al-Zaatar", included First Lt. Ghazi Khalil Ismail, 24; First Lt. Hamza Mohammad Isa, 28; Khaled Sabri Shartin, 24; and Mohammad Diab Mansour, 19.