1976 Yeşilköy airport attack

Attack by Palestinian group in Turkey

- Ernest Eliash
- Yutako Hirano
- Harold Wallace Rosenthal
- Shlomo Weisbach

PerpetratorsPopular Front for the Liberation of PalestineAssailantsMohamed Mehdi and Mohamed Husain al-Rashid

On 11 August 1976, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine carried out a terrorist attack against Yeşilköy Airport in Istanbul, Turkey, killing four people and injuring 20 more.

Incident

The attack occurred as passengers began boarding an El Al Boeing 707^[1] destined for Tel Aviv; the last group was being taken to the plane via an airport bus. The perpetrators threw grenades and fired at the non-boarded passengers with submachine guns. The killers killed two Israeli tourists, Ernest Eliash from Petah Tikva and Shlomo Weisbach from Haifa, a Japanese tour guide, Yutaki Hirano, and Harold Wallace Rosenthal, aide to U.S. Senator Jacob Javits.^[2]^[3]

Perpetrators

The terrorists surrendered following a shootout with Turkish police. They identified themselves as Mohamed Mehdi and Mohamed Husain al-Rashid from the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine.^[4]^[5]

Reactions

R-NY Senator Jacob Javits, whose aide Harold W. Rosenthal was killed in the attack, sponsored Senate Resolution 524, "[Urging] the President to direct United States Ambassadors abroad to seek the consideration by foreign governments of suspension of their air service to any foreign nation aiding or abetting terrorism."^[6]^[7]

References

^ "El Al Passengers at Istanbul Attacked; Guprrillas Seized". The New York Times. 1976-08-12. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2023-06-22.
^ "Forgotten terrorist attack spurs Judeophobic hoax". The Jerusalem Post | JPost.com. Retrieved 2023-06-22.
^ "El Al Passengers at Istanbul Attacked; Guprrillas Seized". The New York Times. 1976-08-12. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2023-06-22.
^ "Terrorists Kill 3, Wound 24 El Al Passengers at Istanbul Airport; Israel Seeking to Extradite Two". Jewish Telegraphic Agency. 2015-03-20. Retrieved 2023-06-22.
^ "Forgotten terrorist attack spurs Judeophobic hoax". The Jerusalem Post | JPost.com. Retrieved 2023-06-22.
^ https://www.congress.gov/bill/94th-congress/senate-resolution/524?s=1&r=45
^ United States, ed. (1976). Terrorist attack at Istanbul airport: report to accompany S. Res. 524. Report - 94th Congress, 2d session, Senate ; no. 94-1235. [Washington: U.S. Govt. Print. Off.

Prominent terrorist attacks against Israelis in the history of the Arab–Israeli conflict – the 1970s

1970

Munich bus attack (February 10)
Swissair Flight 330 attack (February 21)
Avivim school bus bombing (May 22)
Olympic Airways Flight 255 hijacking (July 22)
Dawson's Field hijackings (September 6-13)

1971

Murder of the Aroyo children (January 2)

1972

Lufthansa Flight 649 (February 22–23)
Sabena Flight 571 (May 8)
Lod Airport massacre (May 30)
Munich massacre (5–6 September)
Killing of Ami Shachori (18 September)
Lufthansa Flight 615 (October 29)
Bangkok hostage crisis (December 28)

1973

Assassination of Yosef Alon (July 1)
Schoenau ultimatum (September 28–29)
Rome airport attacks and hijacking (December 17–18)

1974

Kiryat Shmona massacre (April 11)
Ma'alot massacre (May 15)
Nahariya attack (24–25 June)
TWA Flight 841 (September 8)
Paris café attack (September 15)
Beit She'an attack (November 19)

1975

Orly Airport attacks (January 13 and 19)
Savoy Hotel attack (March 6)
Kfar Yuval hostage crisis (June 15)
Zion Square refrigerator bombing (July 4)
Zion Square ice cream shop bombing (November 13)

1976

Air France Flight 139 (June 27)
Yeşilköy airport attack (August 11)

1977

Lufthansa Flight 181 (October 13–18)

1978

Coastal Road massacre (March 11) ‡
Orly Airport attack (May 20)
London bus attack (August 20)

1979

Ma'alot attack (January 13)
Nahariya massacre (April 22)

Attacks launched from the West Bank Attacks launched from the Gaza Strip Attacks launched from Lebanon Attacks launched from Jordan
‡ indicates the terrorist attack which caused the greatest amount of Israeli casualties during the 1970s
List of projectile attacks from Lebanon on Israel and the Golan Heights
1960s

1980s

v t e Prominent Palestinian militancy attacks in the 1970s
Within Israel	Avivim school bus bombing^* (May 22, 1970) Lod Airport massacre (May 30, 1972) Kiryat Shmona massacre^* (April 11, 1974) Ma'alot massacre^* (May 15, 1974) Nahariya attack^* (June 24–25, 1974) Beit She'an attack (November 19, 1974) Savoy Hotel attack^* (March 6, 1975) Kfar Yuval hostage crisis^* (June 15, 1975) Zion Square refrigerator bombing (July 4, 1975) Coastal Road massacre^* (March 11, 1978) Nahariya massacre^* (April 22, 1979)
Within the Gaza Strip	Murder of the Aroyo children (January 2, 1971)
Aircraft attacks and hijackings	Swissair Flight 330 (February 21, 1970) Olympic Airways Flight 255 hijacking (July 22, 1970) Dawson's Field hijackings (September 6–13, 1970) Lufthansa Flight 649 (February 22–23, 1972) Sabena Flight 571 (May 8, 1972) Lufthansa Flight 615 (October 29, 1972) Rome airport attacks and hijacking (December 17–18, 1973) TWA Flight 841 (September 8, 1974) Air France Flight 139 (June 27, 1976) Lufthansa Flight 181 (October 13–18, 1977)
Worldwide	Munich massacre (September 5–6, 1972) Israeli Bangkok embassy hostage crisis (December 28, 1972) Assassination of the Israeli attache in Washington (July 1, 1973) Schoenau ultimatum (September 28–29, 1973) Paris café attack (September 15, 1974) Orly Airport attacks (January, 1975) OPEC siege (December 21, 1975) Yeşilköy airport attack (August 11, 1976) Orly Airport attack (May 20, 1978) London bus attack (August 20, 1978)
^* Attacks launched from Lebanon 1960s 1980s