Sayeret Matkal And Counterterrorism This lesson examines the

Sayeret Matkal And Counterterrorism • This lesson examines the role of one of the elite Special Forces units in the IDF. • Second, the lesson examines the early history of the unit. • Third, the lesson provides a brief exploration of some of the responsibilities/tasks associated with Sayeret Matkal. • Fourth, the lesson examines some of the most significant counterterrorism missions of Sayeret Matkal. • Fifth, the lesson places a spotlight on one of the salient mission failures of Sayeret Matkal.

Sayeret Matkal And Counterterrorism • Established in 1957 • Sayeret Matkal (General Staff Reconnaissance Unit also known organization as Unit 269) is the top special forces unit in the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF). • The unit is responsible for reconnaissance missions deep behind enemy lines.

Sayerat Matkal And Counterterrorism • Counterterrorism is one of the principal organizational missions of the unit. • The unit participates in hostage rescue missions outside of Israel.

Sayeret Matkal

Missions—Hostage Rescues, Entebbe • On Sunday, June 27, 1976 Air France’s Flight 139 left from Ben Gurion Airport, made a stopover in Athens, and then took off towards its final destination in Paris, with 248 passengers on board. • While in Athens several terrorists, Palestinians and Germans, hijacked the plane. In time, non-Jews were released. • Operation Thunderbolt, is the name of the mission to rescue Israeli hostages held captive by terrorists held in Entebbe, Uganda. • C-130 Hercules aircraft with 33 members of Sayeret Matkal were on the tarmac of the Entebbe airport.

Missions—Hostage Rescues, Entebbe • As the Israeli raid concluded, all of the terrorists were killed. • Sayeret Matkal personnel killed 45 Ugandan forces and they destroyed 11 Mi. G fighters. • In the end, 102 hostages were rescued (four were killed) in the highly successful operation. • The raid is one of the best known hostage rescue missions in history.

Failed Hostage Rescue Mission Ma’alot • Sayeret Matkal’s hostage rescues in the Sabena airliner incident and the Entebbe operation was extremely successful. • Not all hostage rescue missions ended in success. • On May 15, 1974 members of Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP) took over a Meir Elementary School in Ma’alot. • DFLP kidnapped 112 students and teachers during the tense two-day stand-off.

Failed Hostage Rescue • On the second day of the stand-off Sayeret Matkal members stormed the school. • During the intense fire-fight, Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP) members instantly began to shoot hostages. • In the wake of the mission, over 20 hostages were killed. The majority of those killed were children. • Some of these victims were killed or wounded in the exchange of fire between Sayeret Matkal and the DFLP.

The Israeli Military Response To Events In Ma’alot • One day after the failed counterterrorism mission, the IDF launched multiple air strikes. • The counterterrorism air strikes targeted training bases of the DFLP and those of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) in southern Lebanon. • The BBC reported that 27 were killed in the twin strikes. • In the wake of the rescue and air strikes, the government of Israel created Yamam, a special police unit designed to protect Israeli citizens from acts of terrorism and when necessary conduct hostage rescues.

Operation Spring Of Youth • Prime Minister Golda Meir approved Operation Wrath of God in response to the assassination of Israeli Olympic athletes by Palestinian terrorists in 1972. • One of the critical missions associated with the response is Operation Spring of Youth. • The critical and sensitive operation occurred in Lebanon.

The Mission • Ehud Barak, later to become Israeli prime minister, lead the operation in April of 1973. • Initially dressed as women, members of Matkal used this disguise to make their way deep inside enemy territory in Beirut and Sidon, Lebanon. • In the operation three senior PLO leaders (and other members of the organization) were killed in their homes during the daring raid. • Two members of the Sayeret Matkal were killed in the mission and there are reports of multiple Lebanese civilian casualties.

Sayeret Matkal And The Destruction Of Syrian Nuclear Reactor • In 2004 Mossad gathered intelligence of the existence of Syrian nuclear facility. • Mossad recognized it required more intel on the facility. Thereafter, Sayeret Matkal was tasked “to gather water and [a] soil sample outside the reactor to make sure whether the reactor was destroyable. ” • The Sayeret Matkal forces “used three Sikorsky CH-53 chopper[s]” to obtain the requested samples outside of the Syrian reactor. • After the combined efforts of Mossad and Matkal commandos the Israeli efforts destroyed the rector in 2007. • Note: Material from this slide was obtained from https: //special-ops. org/operation-orchard-bombing-of-thesyrian-nuclear-reactor/

Other Major Missions Of Sayeret Matkal Other Major Counterterrorism Missions Include: • Operation Gift: In this mission the elite commandos sabotaged 12 Middle East and Lebanese International Airways (and several cargo planes) in Beirut, Lebanon on December 28, 1968. The attack was in response to PFLP attack on an El Al plane. • Operation Rooster: Sayeret Matkal commandos captured an Egyptian radar station in 1969. • Operation Isotope: This is the story of a highly successful operation conducted by the elite unit which rescued Israeli hostages after their plane was hijacked by Palestinian terrorists in 1972. At the time, Benjamin Netanyahu was a member of the commando unit.