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Palestinians Mourn Theresa Halsa, Hijacker of 1972 Flight to Tel Aviv

Theresa Halsa leaves the plane on 9 May 1972. (File photo: AP)
Theresa Halsa leaves the plane on 9 May 1972. (File photo: AP)
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Palestinians Mourn Theresa Halsa, Hijacker of 1972 Flight to Tel Aviv

Theresa Halsa leaves the plane on 9 May 1972. (File photo: AP)
Theresa Halsa leaves the plane on 9 May 1972. (File photo: AP)

The Palestinian Authority, the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), Palestinian factions, and official and popular bodies mourned the Jordanian Fatah member, Theresa Halsa, who died at age of 65 of cancer.

The Executive Committee issued a statement saying Halsa was the head of the Association for the Affairs of the Wounded of the Palestinian Revolution and continued her dedicated struggle since the early 1970’s while carrying Palestine in her heart.

Halsa also dedicated her life to serve the wounded and the prisoners, after she was released from the occupation prisons, added the statement.

The Executive Committee offered its deepest condolences to the Halsa family and the Jordanian and Palestinian people.

Fatah movement also mourned its member Halsa, dubbed Umm Salman, who joined the movement early in her youth, and was member of the Black September group, describing her as “a role model for female fighters.”

Theresa became famous for her participation in hijacking an Israeli plane in 1972, Sabena 571, which was headed from Brussels via Vienna to Lod Airport.

Halsa and her group detained 100 passengers during operation known as Lod operation, demanding the release of Palestinian and Jordanian prisoners in exchange.

The Israeli special forces unit, Sayeret Matkal, went undercover as the International Red Cross and attacked the plane, killing two of the members of the group and arresting Halsa and Rima Tannous.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Prime Minister Ehud Barak were special operations soldiers at the time and were both wounded in the operation which followed the hijacking.

Netanyahu was shot in the shoulder, according to unconfirmed sources. Reports said that Halsa fired at him, while Israeli sources claim he was mistakenly shot by another Israeli soldier.

Halasa was arrested and sentenced by an Israeli court to 220 years in prison, but she was freed as part of a prisoner exchange deal after 12 years.

Theresa was born in 1955 in Akka, to a Jordanian father from Karak, Isaac, and mother, Nadia Hanna from al-Ramah in Akka.

Years before her death, Halsa told the Israeli newspaper Maariv that she doesn’t regret the operation.

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Cyprus Can Help Rid Syria of Chemical Weapons, Search for its Missing, Says Top Diplomat

FILE PHOTO: A UN chemical weapons expert, wearing a gas mask, holds a plastic bag containing samples from one of the sites of an alleged chemical weapons attack in the Ain Tarma neighborhood of Damascus August 29, 2013. REUTERS/Mohamed Abdullah
FILE PHOTO: A UN chemical weapons expert, wearing a gas mask, holds a plastic bag containing samples from one of the sites of an alleged chemical weapons attack in the Ain Tarma neighborhood of Damascus August 29, 2013. REUTERS/Mohamed Abdullah
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Cyprus Can Help Rid Syria of Chemical Weapons, Search for its Missing, Says Top Diplomat

FILE PHOTO: A UN chemical weapons expert, wearing a gas mask, holds a plastic bag containing samples from one of the sites of an alleged chemical weapons attack in the Ain Tarma neighborhood of Damascus August 29, 2013. REUTERS/Mohamed Abdullah
FILE PHOTO: A UN chemical weapons expert, wearing a gas mask, holds a plastic bag containing samples from one of the sites of an alleged chemical weapons attack in the Ain Tarma neighborhood of Damascus August 29, 2013. REUTERS/Mohamed Abdullah

Cyprus stands ready to help eliminate Syria’s remaining chemical weapons stockpiles and to support a search for people whose fate remains unknown after more than a decade of war, the top Cypriot diplomat said Saturday.

Foreign Minister Constantinos Kombos said Cyprus’ offer is grounded on its own past experience both with helping rid Syria of chemical weapons 11 years ago and its own ongoing, decades-old search for hundreds of people who disappeared amid fighting between Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriots in the 1960s and a 1974 Turkish invasion, The AP reported.

Cyprus in 2013 hosted the support base of a mission jointly run by the United Nations and the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) to remove and dispose of Syria's chemical weapons.

“As a neighboring country located just 65 miles from Syria, Cyprus has a vested interest in Syria’s future. Developments there will directly impact Cyprus, particularly in terms of potential new migratory flows and the risks of terrorism and extremism,” Kombos told The AP in written replies to questions.

Kombos said there are “profound concerns” among his counterparts across the region over Syria’s future security, especially regarding a possible resurgence of extremist groups like ISIS in a fragmented and polarized society.

“This is particularly critical in light of potential social and demographic engineering disguised as “security” arrangements, which could further destabilize the country,” Kombos said.

The diplomat also pointed to the recent proliferation of narcotics production like the stimulant Captagon that is interconnected with smuggling networks involved in people and arms trafficking.

Kombos said ongoing attacks against Syria’s Kurds must stop immediately, given the role that Kurdish forces have played in combating extremist forces like the ISIS group in the past decade.

Saleh Muslim, a member of the Kurdish Presidential Council, said in an interview that the Kurds primarily seek “equality” enshrined in rights accorded to all in any democracy.

He said a future form of governance could accord autonomy to the Kurds under some kind of federal structure.

“But the important thing is to have democratic rights for all the Syrians and including the Kurdish people,” he said.

Muslim warned that the Kurdish-majority city of Kobani, near Syria’s border with Türkiye, is in “very big danger” of falling into the hands of Turkish-backed forces, and accused Türkiye of trying to occupy it.

Kombos said the international community needs to ensure that the influence Türkiye is trying to exert in Syria is “not going to create an even worse situation than there already is.”

“Whatever the future landscape in Syria, it will have a direct and far-reaching impact on the region, the European Union and the broader international community,” Kombos said.