Savoy Hotel attack

Savoy Hotel attack
Part of Palestinian insurgency in South Lebanon
The attack site
The attack site
Location Savoy Hotel in Tel Aviv, Israel
Coordinates 32°04′21″N 34°45′57″E / 32.07250°N 34.76583°E / 32.07250; 34.76583
Date 6 March 1975
Attack type
 Shooting spree, Hostage taking
Deaths 8 civilian hostages, 3 Israeli soldiers, 7 Fatah attackers
Perpetrators 8 Palestinian assailants. The Palestinian Liberation Organization claimed responsibility.

The Savoy Hotel attack was a terrorist attack by members of the Palestine Liberation Organization[1] against the Savoy Hotel in Tel Aviv, Israel, on 4–5 March 1975.

Background

The operation was planned by Abu Jihad.[2]

Initial Palestinian planning had called for an attack against the Israeli tourist city of Nahariya, yet the team was apparently unable to locate the city on the night of a previous attempt, two months earlier. The operation's objectives were then changed to the Manshiya Neighborhood Youth Club and the Tel Aviv Opera Building. The contingency plan in case the original targets could not be located was to select any nearby buildings that were populated as targets.

The attackers were told to take hostages, then demand the release of Palestinian prisoners, as well as air transport out of Israel to Damascus. If the negotiations failed, they were told to kill their hostages and commit suicide. In the event of capture, they were instructed to tell their interrogators that they had come from Egypt, in the hope that this would result in a breakdown of ongoing Israeli-Egyptian peace negotiations, and to direct Israeli retaliation away from Lebanon.[3]

The attack

At 11:00 p.m. on the night of 4 March 1975, eight Palestinians in two teams landed by boat on the Tel Aviv beach at the foot of Allenby Street. They had departed from the Lebanese port of Sarafenda, near Tyre on an Egyptian merchant ship. When the ship was about 60 miles off Tel Aviv, the teams were lowered in a boat, and landed on the shore. As they landed on the shore, they were spotted by police officers in a patrol vehicle that was passing by. The officers in the car opened fire at them, and one of the boats which was stocked with weapons was hit and exploded.[4] The militants escaped the beach onto a street corner, leaving much of their weaponry behind in the boats. They then crossed onto Herbert Samuel Street, where they shot and threw grenades. Unable to locate their original targets, they tried but failed to break into a cinema. Afterwards, they continued down the street and took over the Savoy Hotel, at the corner of HaYarkon and Geula streets, near the center of the city. The Savoy Hotel was picked due to it being the only illuminated building on the street. During the takeover of the hotel, three people were killed. Three people managed to escape in the confusion, but most guests and staff were taken hostage and taken to the top floor of the building.

Private Moshe Deutschmann, a soldier from the Israeli army's Golani Brigade who was on home leave at the time, grabbed his weapon and ran to the hotel after hearing gunfire. Meanwhile, some militants attempted to leave the hotel. Deutschmann saw them at the entrance to the hotel, and engaged them. In the exchange of fire, Deutschmann was hit. He managed to crawl away, and was later evacuated to Hadassah Medical Center, where he died of his injuries. Deutschmann was posthumously awarded the Medal of Distinguished Service.

Israeli security forces soon arrived on the scene, and the Palestinians barricaded themselves in the hotel with their hostages, detonated an explosive charge which caused part of the building to collapse, and threatened that if Israel did not release 20 Palestinian prisoners within four hours, the hostages would be executed. According to an eyewitness account:[5]

When I went into the street, I saw a nightmarish spectacle. Red tracer bullets streaked through the night air. The four-story Savoy Hotel, illuminated by floodlights, was surrounded by troops, local police and border police in full battle regalia. Military vehicles, armored cars and personnel carriers clogged the surrounding streets. Red Magen David ambulance crews were administering first aid to wounded civilians on the sidewalks and gutters. Looking out to sea, the blinding light of magnesium flares revealed naval patrol boats cruising just off the beach.

Israeli security forces conducted negotiations with the militants. One hostage, Kochava Levy, became a mediator between the security forces and militants, as she spoke Arabic. During the negotiations, Levy provided the security forces detailed information on the militants.

Early the next morning, the Israeli counter-terrorism unit Sayeret Matkal stormed the hotel, killing seven of the perpetrators and capturing the eighth. Five hostages were freed, while five were killed. They were of various nationalities. Two soldiers, including former Sayeret Matkal commander Uzi Yairi, were also killed.

A few hours after the rescue operation, the ship that had transported the militants was captured on the high seas by the Israeli Navy, about 70 miles west of Haifa, and its crew was arrested. One crewman was sentenced to life in prison, while three others were given prison terms of 5–10 years.[6]

Perpetrators

Members of the Savoy cell included Musa Juma al-Tallka, the sole survivor, Muhammad Mashala, Hader Muhammad, Ziad Talk al-Zrir, Musa Awad, Muhammed al-Masri, Abu al-Lel, and Ahmed Hamid, who were all killed by the Israeli troops. Tallka was tried in a military court, convicted, and sentenced to death by hanging in March 1976. His death sentence was commuted.[6][7] The bodies of those killed were released by the IDF in May 2012.[8]

Aftermath

Memorial plaque with the names of the victims in front of the Savoy Hotel

The partially destroyed Savoy Hotel was completely demolished, and a new hotel of the same name was built in its place. The new Savoy Hotel opened in 1987. At its entrance is a memorial plaque with the names of the victims of the attack.

In August 2012, it was reported that the Ramallah municipality approved the construction of a mausoleum to honor the eight Palestinians who were involved in the attack (the vote was initially reported by the PA daily newspaper Al-Hayat Al-Jadida and subsequently translated into English by Palestinian Media Watch). The decision to build the mausoleum coincides with the return of the perpetrators' remains, which were among the bodies of 91 Palestinian terrorists repatriated to the Palestinian Authority in June 2012 as an Israeli good-will gesture.[9]

References

  1. ↑ Gaouette, Mark (2010-01-01). Cruising for Trouble: Cruise Ships as Soft Targets for Pirates, Terrorists, and Common Criminals. ABC-CLIO. ISBN 9780313382345.
  2. ↑ Unnithan, Sandeep (1 December 2008). "Mumbai terror attacks similar to Savoy Hotel attack: Israeli terror expert". India Today. Retrieved 18 December 2012.
  3. ↑ Terrorist Suicide Operation Analysis. Shai Avital. Globalsecurity.org
  4. ↑ http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4634138,00.html
  5. ↑ "The Savoy Hotel attack". Jewish Telegraphic Agency. Retrieved 16 December 2014.
  6. 1 2 "ארכיון ActivePaper". Retrieved 16 December 2014.
  7. ↑ "The Evening News - Google News Archive Search". Retrieved 16 December 2014.
  8. ↑ Zion, Ilan Ben (30 May 2012). "Israel to return bodies of 91 terrorists to PA on Thursday". The Times of Israel. Retrieved 18 December 2012.
  9. ↑ Ramallah to honor remains of Savoy Hotel terrorists, Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA), 14 August 2012.
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