Force 17
Encyclopedia
Force 17 was a commando and special operations terror unit of the Palestinian
Fatah
movement and later of the Office of the Chairman of the Palestinian Authority
. It was formed in the early 1970s by Ali Hassan Salameh
(Abu Hassan).
Unlike previously formed units within Fatah, the mission of Force 17 was to assassinate Israeli political figures. The importance of such a unit was made clear by the heavy losses suffered by the PLO leadership in Operation Spring of Youth
(1973). Force 17 was used by Fatah to protect PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat
, his top lieutenants, as well as diplomats of the organization. Members accompanied Arafat during his 1974 address to the United Nations in New York City.
In 1979, their founder Salameh
and his bodyguards were assassinated in Beirut
. In 1991, Salah Khalaf
(Abu Iyad) was assassinated by a member of Sabri al-Banna's (Abu Nidal
) group. This came after senior Fatah leaders had emerged relatively unscathed from the Lebanese Civil War, despite being targeted by Syria
, Israel
, Christian militias, and Palestinian rivals inside and outside of Fatah during that period. The relative success contributed greatly to the legend that Arafat had nine lives.
In the 1990s, the unit evolved from an organ of Fatah into an official unit of the Palestinian Authority's national security apparatus. During the Second Intifadeh, Force 17 was tasked with the acquisition of arms shipments for militant Palestinian organizations loyal to Arafat, carrying out terror attacks, and resisting incursions into Palestinian territory (Area A) by Israeli military and police. Allegedly, evidence of these actions was found during Operation Defensive Shield
(June 2002), when the Israel Defense Forces
(IDF) besieged Arafat and Force 17 at the Mukataa
in Ramallah
, entered the compound, and broke into the PA's records.
Since Arafat's death, the unit's future has been called into question due to the rise of internal tensions between PA security organs, the threat to the hegemony of PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas
(Abu Mazen), and the victory of Hamas in 2005 parliamentary elections. Force 17 is staffed almost entirely by fanatical Fatah stalwarts, who would have difficulty accepting a Hamas leader should Abu Mazen be replaced in the near future.
The unit is also considered a chess piece in Fatah's internal wars. Because of the warlord structure of PA security authorities, each one loyal to a local leader, and the similar situation within the Fatah sub-organizations Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades
and Tanzim
that do as they please paying no heed to Fatah's official leader Abu Mazen, Force 17 is one of most stable organs within Fatah. It is said that the man who controls their loyalty is supposed to be the one who controls the movement. The unit was crucial in preventing PLO and Fatah chieftains from usurping Arafat's power for decades, and today it plays the same role for Abu Mazen.
Force 17 claimed responsibility for the kidnapping and murder of IDF
soldier Moshe Levi in December of 1985. His body was found burning near Mazor.
On January 28, 2001, the IDF
captured six members of Force 17, who were believed responsible for the shooting deaths of at least seven Israelis in the Ramallah
area, including Binyamin Kahane
and his wife Talia Kahane. Binyamin Kahane
is the son of the far-right, Israeli politician Rabbi Meir Kahane
.
In 2007, there was a plan to dismantle Force 17 and incorporate it into Presidential Guard
of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas
.
Palestinian territories
The Palestinian territories comprise the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Since the Palestinian Declaration of Independence in 1988, the region is today recognized by three-quarters of the world's countries as the State of Palestine or simply Palestine, although this status is not recognized by the...
Fatah
Fatah
Fataḥ is a major Palestinian political party and the largest faction of the Palestine Liberation Organization , a multi-party confederation. In Palestinian politics it is on the left-wing of the spectrum; it is mainly nationalist, although not predominantly socialist. Its official goals are found...
movement and later of the Office of the Chairman of the Palestinian Authority
President of the Palestinian National Authority
The President of the Palestinian National Authority is the highest-ranking political position in the Palestinian National Authority ....
. It was formed in the early 1970s by Ali Hassan Salameh
Ali Hassan Salameh
Ali Hassan Salameh was the chief of operations—code name Abu Hassan—for Black September, the organization responsible for the 1972 Munich massacre and other attacks. He was also the founder of Force 17...
(Abu Hassan).
Unlike previously formed units within Fatah, the mission of Force 17 was to assassinate Israeli political figures. The importance of such a unit was made clear by the heavy losses suffered by the PLO leadership in Operation Spring of Youth
Operation Spring of Youth
The 1973 Israeli raid on Lebanon took place on the night of April 9 and early morning of April 10, 1973 when Israel Defense Forces special forces units attacked several Palestine Liberation Organization targets in Beirut and Sidon, Lebanon...
(1973). Force 17 was used by Fatah to protect PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat
Yasser Arafat
Mohammed Yasser Abdel Rahman Abdel Raouf Arafat al-Qudwa al-Husseini , popularly known as Yasser Arafat or by his kunya Abu Ammar , was a Palestinian leader and a Laureate of the Nobel Prize. He was Chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization , President of the Palestinian National Authority...
, his top lieutenants, as well as diplomats of the organization. Members accompanied Arafat during his 1974 address to the United Nations in New York City.
In 1979, their founder Salameh
Salameh
Salameh , may refer to:* Hassan Salameh, killed fighting the Israelis in 1948* Ali Hassan Salameh , Palestinian chief of operations for the Black September organization...
and his bodyguards were assassinated in Beirut
Beirut
Beirut is the capital and largest city of Lebanon, with a population ranging from 1 million to more than 2 million . Located on a peninsula at the midpoint of Lebanon's Mediterranean coastline, it serves as the country's largest and main seaport, and also forms the Beirut Metropolitan...
. In 1991, Salah Khalaf
Salah Khalaf
Salah Mesbah Khalaf , also known as Abu Iyad was deputy chief and head of intelligence for the Palestine Liberation Organization, and the second most senior official of Fatah after Yasser Arafat....
(Abu Iyad) was assassinated by a member of Sabri al-Banna's (Abu Nidal
Abu Nidal
Abu Nidal , born Sabri Khalil al-Banna , was the founder of Fatah–The Revolutionary Council , a militant Palestinian group more commonly known as the Abu Nidal Organization...
) group. This came after senior Fatah leaders had emerged relatively unscathed from the Lebanese Civil War, despite being targeted by Syria
Syria
Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....
, Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
, Christian militias, and Palestinian rivals inside and outside of Fatah during that period. The relative success contributed greatly to the legend that Arafat had nine lives.
In the 1990s, the unit evolved from an organ of Fatah into an official unit of the Palestinian Authority's national security apparatus. During the Second Intifadeh, Force 17 was tasked with the acquisition of arms shipments for militant Palestinian organizations loyal to Arafat, carrying out terror attacks, and resisting incursions into Palestinian territory (Area A) by Israeli military and police. Allegedly, evidence of these actions was found during Operation Defensive Shield
Operation Defensive Shield
Operation Defensive Shield was a large-scale military operation conducted by the Israel Defense Forces in 2002, during the course of the Second Intifada. It was the largest military operation in the West Bank since the 1967 Six-Day War. The operation was an attempt by the Israeli army to stop the...
(June 2002), when the Israel Defense Forces
Israel Defense Forces
The Israel Defense Forces , commonly known in Israel by the Hebrew acronym Tzahal , are the military forces of the State of Israel. They consist of the ground forces, air force and navy. It is the sole military wing of the Israeli security forces, and has no civilian jurisdiction within Israel...
(IDF) besieged Arafat and Force 17 at the Mukataa
Mukataa
Mukataa is the name used to refer to the offices and administrative centers of the Palestinian National Authority.Mukataas were mostly built during the British Mandate as Tegart forts and were used both as British government centers and as dwellings for the British administrative staff. Some...
in Ramallah
Ramallah
Ramallah is a Palestinian city in the central West Bank located 10 kilometers north of Jerusalem, adjacent to al-Bireh. It currently serves as the de facto administrative capital of the Palestinian National Authority...
, entered the compound, and broke into the PA's records.
Since Arafat's death, the unit's future has been called into question due to the rise of internal tensions between PA security organs, the threat to the hegemony of PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas
Mahmoud Abbas
Mahmoud Abbas , also known by the kunya Abu Mazen , has been the Chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organisation since 11 November 2004 and became President of the Palestinian National Authority on 15 January 2005 on the Fatah ticket.Elected to serve until 9 January 2009, he unilaterally...
(Abu Mazen), and the victory of Hamas in 2005 parliamentary elections. Force 17 is staffed almost entirely by fanatical Fatah stalwarts, who would have difficulty accepting a Hamas leader should Abu Mazen be replaced in the near future.
The unit is also considered a chess piece in Fatah's internal wars. Because of the warlord structure of PA security authorities, each one loyal to a local leader, and the similar situation within the Fatah sub-organizations Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades
Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades
The al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades is a coalition of Palestinian nationalist militias in the West Bank. The group's name refers to the al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem...
and Tanzim
Tanzim
Tanzim is a militant faction of the Palestinian Fatah movement.-Overview:The Tanzim militia, founded in 1995 to counter Palestinian Islamism, is widely considered to be an armed offshoot of Fatah with its own leadership structure...
that do as they please paying no heed to Fatah's official leader Abu Mazen, Force 17 is one of most stable organs within Fatah. It is said that the man who controls their loyalty is supposed to be the one who controls the movement. The unit was crucial in preventing PLO and Fatah chieftains from usurping Arafat's power for decades, and today it plays the same role for Abu Mazen.
Force 17 claimed responsibility for the kidnapping and murder of IDF
Israel Defense Forces
The Israel Defense Forces , commonly known in Israel by the Hebrew acronym Tzahal , are the military forces of the State of Israel. They consist of the ground forces, air force and navy. It is the sole military wing of the Israeli security forces, and has no civilian jurisdiction within Israel...
soldier Moshe Levi in December of 1985. His body was found burning near Mazor.
On January 28, 2001, the IDF
Israel Defense Forces
The Israel Defense Forces , commonly known in Israel by the Hebrew acronym Tzahal , are the military forces of the State of Israel. They consist of the ground forces, air force and navy. It is the sole military wing of the Israeli security forces, and has no civilian jurisdiction within Israel...
captured six members of Force 17, who were believed responsible for the shooting deaths of at least seven Israelis in the Ramallah
Ramallah
Ramallah is a Palestinian city in the central West Bank located 10 kilometers north of Jerusalem, adjacent to al-Bireh. It currently serves as the de facto administrative capital of the Palestinian National Authority...
area, including Binyamin Kahane
Binyamin Kahane
Binyamin Kahane , 5 March 1911 – 30 October 1956, was an Israeli air force officer and pilot who, while on a reconnaissance sortie, sacrificed his life to save the ground troops he was supporting from attack. For his action he was awarded the Medal of Courage by the Israeli Defense Forces...
and his wife Talia Kahane. Binyamin Kahane
Binyamin Kahane
Binyamin Kahane , 5 March 1911 – 30 October 1956, was an Israeli air force officer and pilot who, while on a reconnaissance sortie, sacrificed his life to save the ground troops he was supporting from attack. For his action he was awarded the Medal of Courage by the Israeli Defense Forces...
is the son of the far-right, Israeli politician Rabbi Meir Kahane
Meir Kahane
Martin David Kahane , also known as Meir Kahane , was an American-Israeli rabbi and ultra-nationalist writer and political figure. He was an ordained Orthodox rabbi and later served as a member of the Israeli Knesset...
.
In 2007, there was a plan to dismantle Force 17 and incorporate it into Presidential Guard
Presidential Guard
Presidential Guard may refer to:*Evzones, the Greek Presidential Guard, formerly the Royal Guard.*Presidential Guard *Presidential Guard *Presidential Guard *Presidential Guard Brigade...
of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas
Mahmoud Abbas
Mahmoud Abbas , also known by the kunya Abu Mazen , has been the Chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organisation since 11 November 2004 and became President of the Palestinian National Authority on 15 January 2005 on the Fatah ticket.Elected to serve until 9 January 2009, he unilaterally...
.