Mughrabi's leadership role in the attack marked the emergence of women as full-fledged combat members of terror organizations.
By DAVID E. KAPLANfemale terrorist 88 224(photo credit: Jerusalem Post Archives)
On the morning of March 11, 1978, a Palestinian Fedayeen unit of 11 members, led by female terrorist Dalia Mughrabi, landed by boats on a beach near Ma'agan Michael, having departed from Lebanon. They immediately killed an American photographer who was taking nature photographs nearby, and then hijacked a bus on the coastal highway.
An IDF anti-terror unit, headed by (current Defense Minister) Ehud Barak, followed the bus until it was finally stopped at Herzliya. A gun battle ensued, with the passengers caught in the lethal crossfire. Many of those attempting to escape were shot at by the terrorists, who finally blew up the bus, turning it into a fiery deathtrap.
Mughrabi's leadership role in the attack (a second female terrorist also took part in the attack) marked the emergence of women as full-fledged combat members of terror organizations. The Palestinian Authority has named a girls' school in Hebron in honor of Mughrabi, whose name has also been bestowed on popular children's summer camps.
The bloody attack was the immediate trigger for Israel's Operation Litani against PLO bases in Lebanon three days later. During the Second Lebanon War with Hizbullah, Bobby and Brenda Shapiro received another calling card from their neighbors in Lebanon. A Katyusha rocket fell a few meters away from their home in Moshav Ben Ami, near Nahariya, leaving a massive hole in their garden.
