Force 17

In the early 1970s, Force 17 emerged as an elite personal security squad in charge of protecting Yasir Arafat and other leaders of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO). The group later branched out into terror attacks on Israel, although in recent years it has resumed its role of providing security to high-ranking Palestinian officials.

Theories explaining the group's name abound. It may be named for the address of its first headquarters, at 17 Faqahani Street, or for the 17 Palestinians killed in the 1968 battle of Karameh, Jordan, that brought Arafat to the world's attention. The name may also have been coined in an attempt to one-up the fearsome Lebanese Christian militia called Force 16, or in reference to the number of bows that a devout Muslim makes during daily prayers. Other theories say the name derives from the last two digits of the telephone number of its first commander, Ali Hassan Salameh, who was assassinated by the Israelis in 1979. According to another theory, the name was taken from the number of the Beirut hotel room that served as Salameh's office.

The group is said to have carried out covert attacks upon and assassinations of Palestinians opposed to Arafat's leadership. In the 1980s, Force 17 expanded its operations and attacked Israeli targets. In 1985 the group claimed responsibility for an attack that killed three middle-aged Israelis on a yacht in the marina in Lanarca, Cyprus. The PLO claimed that the Israelis were members of Mossad, Israel's secret intelligence service. Force 17 was known for recruiting foreigners to serve in its ranks, and an Englishman was one of three members convicted in the Lanarca killings. The British press reported that the man, Ian Davidson, was a carpenter who volunteered to serve “because I was sick of my empty life.”

When the PLO was exiled to Tunisia, Force 17 members trained in Russia and Libya. With the establishment of the Palestinian Authority in 1994, Force 17 officially ceased to exist. It was merged into the Presidential Security force, called al Amn al Ri'asah. The terms of the Israeli-Palestinian peace agreement permitted the development of a Palestinian police force, and many Force 17 members returned to the Gaza Strip after more than a decade of exile in Tunisia. The security force is responsible for protecting the president of the Palestinian Authority and other prominent Palestinians, collecting intelligence information, and carrying out counterterrorism operations. Palestinians, however, have accused the squad of police brutality.

Despite its official dissolution, Force 17 continued to exist, more or less openly, as an organization loyal to Arafat. According to the Israeli army, Force 17 members carried out multiple attacks and drive-by shootings against Israelis during the intifada that began in 2000. The Israeli army has in turn bombed many police stations and other buildings used by the squad, which has denied all charges of recent terrorist activity. On February 13, 2001, Israeli army helicopters tracked a long-time senior officer, Masoud Ayad, as he drove his white Honda Civic along the main road in the Jabaliya refugee camp near Gaza City. As they followed Ayad, they opened fire and killed him. Ayad had been accused of being involved in mortar attacks against Israeli settlements and army positions.

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