The Palestine Liberation Organization and their partners in terror have, in approximately 10 years, killed 1131 people–an average of one person every three days–wounded or maimed 2471, and held 2755 as hostages.
These grim statistics are contained in an analysis of 865 terrorist actions spanning six continents, covering the period Sept. 1, 1967 through Dec. 1, 1977, compiled by the Anti-Defamation League of B’nai B’rith. Arnold Forster, associate director and general counsel of the ADL, said the report was being made public in the wake of the wanton PLO killings March II of 32 people in Israel.
Analyzing the decade of terrorism, the report, which was prepared by ADL’s research and evaluation department, discloses that Arab terrorists carried out seven terrorist actions a month, about one incident every four days, year in and year out for more than a decade; killed nine people each month, one victim approximately every three days; injured, wounded or maimed 20 people each month; and held 22 individuals hostage each month.
NO COUNTRY OR PEOPLE IMMUNE TO TERRORISM
“While the primary target is Jews, many Christians and Moslems have also become their victims,” Forster said. He cites, as a recent example, the murder last month in Cyprus of Youssef el-Sabbai, the editor-in-chief of the semi-official Egyptian newspaper AI Ahram.
The study points out that the 865 Arab terrorist actions included 308 bombings in 20 countries and 216 attempted bombings; bomb threats and bomb plots in 26 countries; 180 shootings in 11 countries; 11 assassinations in nine countries and 17 attempted murders in 11 countries; 15 arsons in three countries and 19 hijackings in 14 countries or the skies above them.
It adds that the terrorists perpetrated six other hijackings which were unsuccessful and carried out 29 other assorted acts of terror in 12 countries. No country, not even an Arab country, is immune to Arab terrorist actions. But the report underscores that Israel is the main target, and Israelis the principal victims.
Israel was the site for four of every five bombings, nine of every ten shootings, three of every four arsons, and more than half the assassinations. At least half–1776–of all the terrorists’ victims have been Israelis–28 percent of all those killed and 60 percent, or three of every five–of those injured.
Pointing out that “diplomatic immunity” is not recognized by the PLO, the report notes that Arab terrorists have murdered American diplomats in the Sudan and in Lebanon, and unsuccessfully attempted to assassinate former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, the late Israeli Premier David Ben Gurion, and Jordan’s King Hussein.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
