Younis, Fawaz (1959–)

The Lebanese hijacker Fawaz Younis (aka Fawaz Yunis) was captured in an elaborate FBI operation and brought to trial in the United States under anti-terrorism laws passed in the 1980s. During his trial, members of the gallery gave Younis the nickname “teddy bear terrorist,” because of his affable demeanor and because no hostages were [Page 641]harmed during the 1985 hijacking of Royal Jordanian Airlines Flight 402.

Younis was born in Baalbeck, Lebanon, but his family moved to the Shiite slums of Beirut when he was very young. He was just 15 when the Lebanese civil war began in 1974. In 1979, Younis joined the Shiite militant party Amal. During the early 1980s, he worked as a used car salesman, but when Amal took control of West Beirut in 1984, Younis became a full-time officer in the Amal militia.

On June 11, 1985, under orders from Amal, Younis and four hijackers, armed with hand grenades and other weapons, took control of Flight 402 from Beirut to Amman, Jordan. The group planned to reroute the flight to Tunisia, where the Arab League was meeting, and demand that all Palestinians be expelled from Lebanon.

The hijacked plane flew to Cyprus, to Tunisia, to Italy, back to Tunisia, and finally to Beirut. Two Americans were among the 10 passengers and crew aboard the flight. On the plane, the heavily armed Younis was videotaped reading a statement calling for all Palestinians to be forced out of Lebanon. After the plane landed in Beirut and all of the passengers were allowed to leave the plane, Younis and the other hijackers blew it up. The next day, a Palestinian hijacked a Middle East Airlines flight in protest of Amal's demands. The two Americans on board the first hijacked airplane were also aboard the second hijacked flight.

In September 1987, a Lebanese informant working for the United States lured Younis onto a luxury yacht in international waters off Cyprus by promising him access to a big drug deal. Once aboard, Younis was caught in a trap engineered by the Pentagon, the CIA, the FBI, the Drug Enforcement Agency, and the State Department. U.S. officials arrested him and brought him to the United States to stand trial.

Nabih Berri, Lebanon's justice minister and the leader of the Amal Party, denounced the capture, calling it close to piracy and an attack on Lebanon's honor. In October 1989, an U.S. court sentenced Younis to 30 years in prison. The judge said that Younis was not given a life sentence because he showed sensitivity during the hijacking, ushering those with medical conditions off the plane. During the trial, press accounts revealed that Jamal Hamadan, the informant that U.S. officials used to lure Younis to the yacht, had been convicted of murder in Lebanon. In exchange for facilitating Younis's capture, Hamadan, who did not testify at the trial, was brought to the United States and placed in the witness protection program. Younis was released in March 2005 after serving approximately half his sentence.