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Speedboat Hit On Israel
Foiled Largely By Luck

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AMERICAN
CANCER
SOCIETY 3

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Help us keep winning.

Tel Aviv (JTA) — Luck as
much as any other factor
helped foil a potentially
disastrous attack by heavily
armed seaborne terrorists on
Israeli civilians last week.
Air, ground and naval
forces engaged the in-
truders, killing four and cap-
turing 12 before they could
cause casualties or damage.
Meanwhile, a full-scale in-
quiry has been opened at
Israel Defense Force Gen-
eral Headquarters, in order
to seek answers to many
questions being asked by of-
ficers, politicians and the
public at large over the
defensive operation con-
ducted by the IDF.
Chief of Staff Gen. Dan
Shomron and his senior offi-
cers admitted they took a
calculated risk by not clear-
ing the beaches as soon as
the attackers were detected.
An important consideration
was not to create panic, they
said.
They also withheld fire un-
til it was certain the ap-
proaching boatloads of men
were enemies.
Two apparently well-
planned and coordinated
assaults were attempted by
Palestinian terrorists travel-
ing in fast fiberglass motor-
boats from a "mother ship"
cruising more than 100
miles off the Israeli coast.
Additional, more numer-
ous landing attempts were
aborted by mechanical
difficulties.
Responsibility for the
operation, believed to have
been launched from Libya,
was claimed by the Palestine
Liberation Front. The PLF,
headed by Mohammed
(Abul) Abbas, is the group
responsible for the 1985 at-
tack on the Italian cruise
ship Achille Lauro and the
subsequent killing of Leon
Klinghoffer.
Initial targets were
beaches north and south of
Tel Aviv, where the
assailants knew thousands
of Israelis would be spending
the Shavuot holiday sun-
bathing and swimming.
Maps and documents
found on the terrorists made
clear their targets also in-
cluded hotels and the center
of Tel Aviv, which could be
expected to be crowded with
civilians.
The armaments carried by
the terrorists included
cannon, heavy machine
guns, assault rifles, side
arms, grenades and ex-
plosives, which indicated an

intent to cause maximum
bloodshed and havoc.
The attempted landings
were at Ga'ash, a beach nor-
th of Tel Aviv, and Nit-
zanim, a beach between
Ashkelon and Ashdod to the
south. More than three
hours separated the two
assaults.
Military and civilian
leaders agreed that the tim-
ing of the Shavuot attack
had nothing to do with the
slaying of seven Palestin-
ians by a reputedly deranged
Israeli gunman near Rishon
le-Zion on May 20, though
the PLF claimed it was in
revenge.
Experts pointed out that
the attack, which included a
mother ship and 16 armed
men riding six speedboats,
must have been planned
weeks or months in advance.
Israelis also admit the
element of chance did much
to prevent a massacre. The
engine of one boat would not
start when it was put into
the water.
Three others, including
one used as a refueling
tanker, broke down shortly
afterwards.
If all five assault boats had
reached beaches or deserted
areas on the coast, the out-
come might have been diff-
erent.
The police anti-terrorist
unit, under IDF command,
took an active part in the
operation, but despite offi-
cial praise for IDF-police co-
operation, Police Commis-
sioner Ya'acov Terner stated
publicly that he learned of
the Nitzanim landing from a
private citizen who tele-
phoned him.
According to news reports,
the first warning of trouble
was received at 6:45 a.m.
local time when navy radar
picked up the blips of speed-
boats about 26 miles off
shore heading toward
Ga'ash.
A Dabour-class gunboat on
routine patrol off Tel Aviv
was sent to investigate. It
intercepted the speedboat
and ordered its five oc-
cupants to jump into the sea
without their weapons. They
were promptly captured and
taken ashore.
Air force spotter planes,
attack helicopters and other
naval vessels were immedi-
ately put on alert.
But it was not until 10
a.m. local time that a second
suspicious-looking speedboat
was seen making for shore
near Nitzanim.

