1972 Palestinian militant attack in Thailand
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Engagements
International incidents
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The
Israeli Bangkok embassy hostage crisis
occurred on 28 December 1972. It was a raid by a squad of four
Palestinian militants
, belonging to the
Black September
organization, on the
Israeli
embassy
building in
Bangkok
in which the militants held six Israeli embassy staff hostage. After 19 hours of
negotiations
, the hijackers agreed to abandon the embassy in exchange for being flown to
Egypt
. The raid was one of a
number of attacks that have been conducted against Israeli embassies and diplomats
.
Attack
The attack began when two Black September operatives infiltrated a party being held at the embassy. Once these two were inside, two others climbed over the wall with
automatic weapons
and together the four took over the embassy. They allowed all the
Thais
to leave but kept six
Israelis
hostage, including
Shimon Avimor
, Israeli Ambassador to Cambodia who was visiting.
[1]
Rehavam Amir
, the Israeli
ambassador
, and his wife Avital were attending the investiture ceremony of
Vajiralongkorn
as
Crown Prince of Thailand
at the
Ananta Samakhom Throne Hall
, thus they were not among the hostages and could therefore participate in the
negotiations
with the militants. Ambassador Amir and Prime Minister
Thanom Kittikachorn
was informed about the siege during a break in the middle of the ceremony.
[2]
The militants moved their hostages to the second floor of the three storey building and made their demands.
[
citation needed
]
The militants demanded that 36 prisoners be released from
Israeli prisons
, including
K?z? Okamoto
and the survivors of the
Sabena Flight 571 incident
.
[
citation needed
]
They threatened to blow up the embassy if these demands were not met by 08:00 on 29 December.
[
citation needed
]
Two Thai government members,
Dawee Chullasapya
and
Chatichai Choonhavan
, who was then deputy foreign minister and became prime minister in 1988, along with the Egyptian ambassador to Thailand, Mustapha el Assawy, negotiated the release of the hostages and instead offered themselves and a number of other Thai officials as surety for the terrorists' safe conduct to Cairo.
[3]
After 19 hours of negotiation, an agreement, subsequently dubbed the "Bangkok solution", was worked out and no-one was injured.
[4]
Feeling that the Thai nation's celebration of the investiture of the
heir to the throne
should not be marred by a dispute that did not concern them, the
Thai government
guaranteed the
terrorists
safe travel to
Cairo
[5]
while leaving the hostages in the care of the Thais.
The Black September leadership was reportedly upset with the behavior of its operatives in settling the incident.
[1]
[6]
[7]
Then-Israeli prime minister
Golda Meir
praised the Thai government for their diplomacy which made for a bloodless end of the crisis.
[3]
See also
References
- ^
a
b
Reeve, Simon (2000).
One Day in September: The Full Story of the 1972 Munich Olympics Massacre and the Israeli Revenge Operation "Wrath of God"
. Arcade. pp. 169?170.
ISBN
978-1-55970-547-9
.
- ^
Klein, Aaron.
Striking Back.
Random House, 2005, p. 135
- ^
a
b
King Bhumibol Adulyadej: A Life's Work
, Editions Didier Millet, 2012, p. 126
- ^
Whitney, Craig R. (29 December 1972).
"Israeli Embassy in Bangkok Held by Arabs 19 Hours"
.
The New York Times
. p. 1
. Retrieved
13 June
2022
.
- ^
O'Loughlin, Peter (29 December 1972).
"Arab Terrorists Flown to Cairo After Releasing Six Hostages"
.
The Telegraph
. p. 24
. Retrieved
13 June
2022
.
- ^
Klein, Aaron J. (2007).
Striking Back: The 1972 Munich Olympics Massacre and Israel's Deadly Response
. Random House. p. 137.
ISBN
978-1-58836-586-6
.
In Beirut, Ali Hassan Salameh was enraged by the operation's failure.
- ^
Transnational Terrorism: a chronology of events
by Edward F. Mickolaus Westport, Conn; Greenwood Press, 1980 p.367
External links
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1970
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1971
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1972
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1973
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1974
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1975
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1976
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1977
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1978
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1979
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Within Israel
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- 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)
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Within the Gaza Strip
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Aircraft attacks and hijackings
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- 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)
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Worldwide
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- 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 cafe attack
(September 15, 1974)
- Orly Airport attacks
(January, 1975)
- OPEC siege
(December 21, 1975)
- Ye?ilkoy airport attack
(August 11, 1976)
- Orly Airport attack
(May 20, 1978)
- London bus attack
(August 20, 1978)
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