Force 17 Explained

Unit Name:	Force 17
Dates:	Early 1970s - 2007
Country:	Palestine
Type:	Commando and special operations unit
Command Structure:	Palestinian Fatah movement and later of the Office of the Chairman of the Palestinian Authority
Garrison:	Al-Fakhani Street in Beirut
Battles:	Uganda–Tanzania War
Commander1:	Ali Hassan Salameh (Founder)
Commander1 Label:	Notable commanders

Force 17 (ar|القوة 17) was a commando and special operations unit of the Palestinian Fatah movement and later of the Office of the Chairman of the Palestinian Authority. It was formed in the early 1970s by Ali Hassan Salameh (Abu Hassan).^[1] Initially, the group was housed in building 17 of Al-Fakhani Street in Beirut.

History

Force 17 was formed by Ali Hassan Salameh in the 1970s in an attempt to professionalize Fatah's intelligence services.^[2] Force 17 was also initially responsible for Yasser Arafat's personal security.^[3] Salameh was wrongly believed to have masterminded the 1972 Munich massacre and was assassinated in January 1979 as part of Mossad assassinations following the Munich massacre.^[4]

Dissolution

In 1994, the unit was largely absorbed into Yasser Arafat’s personal security force, the Palestinian Authority's "Presidential Security".^{[5] [6]} In 2006, the unit was separated, to become the Presidential Guard as part of the Palestinian Security Services.^[7] During the Lebanese Civil War, then-14-year-old Imad Mughniyeh joined Force 17 in 1976. He worked as a sniper in Beirut, targeting Christian fighters on the Green Line.^[8]

In 2007, a plan to dismantle the remnant of Force 17 and incorporate it into the Presidential Guard of President Mahmoud Abbas was unveiled by Ynet.^[9] The Force was merged into the Presidential Guard and the National Security Forces in December 2007.^[10]

Operations

• 1979: Force 17 elements were dispatched to Uganda to assist the PLO's efforts to defend the regime of Idi Amin during the Uganda–Tanzania War.^[11]
• September 1985: Gunmen allegedly part of Force 17 stormed a yacht moored in Larnaca, Cyprus killing three Israeli citizens.^[12] PLO authorities at the time denied involvement.^[13]
• December 1985: Force 17 claimed responsibility for the kidnapping and murder of IDF soldier Moshe Levi. His body was found burning near Mazor.^[14]

Rumored operations

• The group has been accused by some of having carried out the 1987 assassination of Palestinian cartoonist Naji al-Ali in London.^[15]

Operations against Force 17

• On January 28, 2001, the IDF captured six members of Force 17, who were believed responsible for the shooting deaths of at least seven Israelis in the Ramallah area, including Binyamin Ze'ev Kahane and his wife Talya Kahane. Binyamin Kahane was the son of Kach leader, Rabbi Meir Kahane.^[16]
• February 2001, an Israeli helicopter fired a missile killing prominent Force 17 member Massoud Ayyad.^[17]

Leadership

According to most reports Force 17 was founded in the early 1970s by Ali Hassan Salameh.^[18] In 1979 Salameh and his bodyguards were assassinated in Beirut by Israeli intelligence.^[19]

Mahmoud Awad Damra reportedly commanded Force 17.^[1] In 2006, he was sentenced by an Israeli court to 15 years in prison for his role in planning several attacks against Israel. He was released as part of the Gilad Shalit prisoner exchange.^[20]

See also

• Force 14

Notes and References

1. Web site: Who are Force 17?. December 4, 2001. BBC.
2. Book: Bird, Kai . 2014 . The Good Spy . Crown Publishers . 9780307889751 . registration.
3. Web site: Palestinian Political Organizations. October 28, 2014. PBS.
4. News: Noam Shalev. 24 January 2006. The hunt for Black September. BBC News Online.
5. http://www.miftah.org/Display.cfm?DocId=10400&CategoryId=21 The Palestinian Security Services: Past and Present
6. Web site: القوة 17والجناح العسكري لفتح . BBC . 1 December 2006.
7. https://books.google.com/books?id=icV4k__xMmgC&pg=PA160 Friedrich, Luethold
8. News: Profile: Imad Mughniyeh . 5 July 2024 . . 2008-02-17.
9. News: Abbas to dismantle Force 17 . Ynetnews . Ynet News . 10 August 2007. Waked . Ali .
10. Roland Friedrich, Arnold Luethold and Firas Milhem, The Security Sector Legislation of the Palestinian National Authority, p. 272; Decision No. of 2007, 6 December 2007 (3,2 MB). Geneva Centre for the Democratic Control of Armed Forces (DCAF), January 2008. On website
11. News: الشهيد العقيد عبد الغفار حلمي الغول . The martyr Colonel Abd al-Ghaffar Hilmi al-Ghoul . Major General Orabi Klub . w6an.com . ar . 29 April 2020 . 28 February 2021 .
12. Web site: 3 Israelis Slain by Palestinians in Cyprus. September 26, 1985. The New York Times.
13. Web site: Israel Asks Cyprus to Extradite Pro-Palestinian Gunmen Accused of Killing 3 Aboard Yacht. September 27, 1985. Los Angeles Times.
14. Web site: Kidnappings of IDF Soldiers. October 28, 2014. Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
15. News: Can a murder that happened three decades ago now be solved?. The Economist. 31 August 2017. 2017-09-06.
16. Web site: Israel Security Agency IDF forces arrested terrorists suspected of shootings. October 28, 2014. Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
17. Web site: Arafat aide killed in helicopter ambush. February 14, 2001. The Telegraph.
18. Web site: The Wooing of the Red Prince. May 20, 2014. Newsweek.
19. Web site: Robert C Ames and the death of an American view of the Middle East. June 19, 2014. The National.
20. Web site: Terrorist released in Schalit deal named PA adviser. January 2, 2012. The Jerusalem Post.