Atwa, Ali (1960–)

aka Ammar Mansour Bouslim, Hassan Rostom Salim

Lebanese citizen Ali Atwa is perhaps best known as the would-be hijacker who was bumped from TWA Flight 847. Atwa was included on the FBI's October 2001 list of the 22 “most wanted terrorists” for his role in the 1985 hijacking, which developed into a several-week-long hostage ordeal and led to the death of a U.S. Navy officer.

An alleged member of Lebanese Hezbollah during the 1980s, Atwa is thought by the FBI to be living somewhere in Lebanon. Press reports have suggested that the death of Atwa's brother during an Israeli military operation in Sidon (in Lebanon) led him to begin training to take part in the TWA hijacking.

By his own admission to Greek authorities, Atwa planned on boarding TWA Flight 847 from Athens to Rome as its third hijacker on June 14, 1985. However, he was bumped, missed his flight, and was arrested.

While Atwa was left on the ground arguing with ticket agents, two hijackers took over Flight 847, brandishing a pistol and hand grenades. They forced American pilot John Testrake to redirect the Boeing 727 to Beirut, where they landed and made their demands. They called for the release of hundreds of prisoners, many of them Shiite Muslims, held by Israel. One of the hijackers shot a passenger, Officer Robert Stethem, at close range and dumped his body onto the tarmac.

Meanwhile, Greek authorities arrested Atwa and found forged Moroccan passports in his possession. Atwa confessed his plans to hijack the plane. After Atwa's arrest became known, the hijackers began negotiations with Greek authorities for his release, saying, according to press accounts, that they would kill the Greek passengers on board, one every hour, until Atwa was released.

The plane then flew to Algiers, continuing a bizarre air journey in which Testrake flew the plane back and forth from Beirut to Algiers, eventually logging 8,300 miles. The hijackers released some hostages during each stop. While the plane waited during its first stop in Algiers, Greek officials flew Atwa to join his cohorts in exchange for passengers. After a two-week standoff on the tarmac in Beirut, Israel released some of the Shiite prisoners. The hijackers released all of their hostages and flew to freedom in Algiers.

The United States indicted Atwa and fellow Lebanese Imad Fayez Mughniyah and Hasan Izz-al-Din on July 3, 1985, on charges related to the TWA hijacking. All three men number on the FBI's 22 most wanted terrorists list. A fourth man, Mohammad Ali Hamadei, was also indicted; he was later caught in Frankfurt and sentenced to life in prison by a West German court in 1989.

Lebanese officials have claimed that Atwa is not currently linked to the party structure of Hezbollah. Although Hezbollah recast itself as a political party during the 1990s, holding elected seats in parliament, the U.S. government continues to regard it as a terrorist organization. As of January 2002, the FBI offers a reward of up to $25 million for information leading to Atwa's arrest.