Page 165 - Encyclopedia Of Terrorism

F-Kushner.qxd 30-10-02 10:04 AM Page 140

140———Force 17

during times of political upheaval for the democratic
government—and seemingly endless funds, as well FLNC. See NATIONAL LIBERATION FRONT
as the scheduling of its attacks, which would seem to OF CORSICA.
have required an intimate knowledge of the daily
agendas and security precautions of the group’s high-
profile victims. No evidence has come to light in
FMLN. See FARABUNDO MARTI FRONT FOR
support of these suspicions, but in the late 1970s
many GRAPO members were quietly released several NATIONAL LIBERATION.
months after being arrested without being tried.
The number of attacks attributed to GRAPO
declined during the mid-1980s, after members began to FORCE 17
serve lengthy prison sentences. The group appears to
resemble the phoenix in its ability to resurrect itself.
The Spanish police have announced that they believe In the early 1970s, Force 17 emerged as an elite per-
the group to be all but destroyed more than half a dozen sonal security squad in charge of protecting Yasir
times, yet it has always returned to commit more Arafat and other leaders of the Palestine Liberation
attacks. The group’s strength and funds have certainly Organization (PLO). The group later branched out into
been seriously diminished since its heyday. From a high terror attacks on Israel and was officially dissolved
of about 200 members, GRAPO is now believed to have in 1994.
about a dozen members who are not imprisoned. Theories explaining the group’s name abound. It
In the late 1990s, the government began secret talks may be named for the address of its first headquarters
with the group to convince it to lay down its arms; talks at 17 Faqahani Street, or for the 17 Palestinians killed
broke down in 1998 over GRAPO demands that the in the 1968 battle of Karameh, Jordan, that brought
government to reduce the prison sentences of some of Arafat to the world’s attention. The name may have
its members. Spain’s government refused unless the been coined in an attempt to one-up the fearsome
group revealed the whereabouts of Publio Cordon, a Lebanese Christian militia called Force 16, or in refer-
kidnapping victim that GRAPO claims to have set free ence to the number of bows that a devout Muslim
in 1995 but who has not been seen since his abduction. makes during daily prayers. Other theories say the
In November 2000, French police arrested seven name derives from the last two digits of the telephone
GRAPO leaders living in hiding in that country; offi- number of its first commander, Ali Hassan Salameh,
cials hoped the group might finally be destroyed, but a who was assassinated by the Israelis in 1979; in yet
week later GRAPO claimed responsibility for the another theory, the name was taken from the number of
killing of a police officer in Madrid. GRAPO remains the Beirut hotel room that served as Salameh’s office.
an enigma, and its future is a mystery. The group is said to have carried out covert attacks
upon and assassinations of Palestinians opposed to
See also BASQUE FATHERLAND AND LIBERTY
Arafat’s leadership. In the 1980s, Force 17 expanded
its operations and attacked Israeli targets. In 1985, the
Further Reading
group claimed responsibility for an attack that killed
Burns, Madrid. “Spanish Minister Claims Success Against three middle-aged Israelis on a yacht in the marina in
Guerrillas.” Financial Times, January 22, 1985, 2. Lanarca, Cyprus. The PLO claimed that the Israelis
McGirk, Tim. “Death Ends Hunger Strike in Spain.” The were members of Mossad, Israel’s secret intelligence
Independent, May 26, 1990, 12. service. Force 17 was known for recruiting foreigners
“Spain: GRAPO Harvest.” The Economist, October 20, to serve in its ranks, and an Englishman was one of
1979, 57. three members convicted in the Lanarca killings. The
Tarvainen, Sinikka. “Obscure Leftwing Terror Attacks Baffle British press reported that the man, named Ian
Spaniards.” Deutsche Presse-Agentur, July 8, 2000.
“The Terrorist Bulls Which Gored Spain’s Democracy.” Davidson, was a carpenter who volunteered to serve
The Economist, June 2, 1979, 41. “because I was sick of my empty life.”
Wheeler, Fenton. “GRAPO Claims Responsibility for When the PLO was exiled to Tunisia, Force 17
Slaying of Three Policemen.” Associated Press, January members trained in Russia and Libya. With the
29, 1977. establishment of the Palestinian Authority in 1994,