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Operation Wooden Leg was the October 1, 1985 Israeli Air Force raid on the Palestinian Liberation Organization's headquarters in Tunis, Tunisia.
Background One of the goals of the Israeli invasion of Lebanon in 1982 was to drive the PLO out of Lebanon, which had been launching rockets from the south of that country into Israel. The Israeli operation completed that objective, and in August 1982 PLO soldiers began leaving Lebanon in ships. Yasser Arafat wanted another Arab country to serve as a base for the PLO, and settled on Tunisia. The PLO would remain in Tunis for three years. On September 25, 1985, three Israeli civilians were killed on their yacht off the coast of Larnaca, Cyprus. An elite section of the PLO known as "Force 17" claimed the attack. The Israeli cabinet and the Israeli Air Force immediately wanted retaliation, and chose the Tunis headquarters of the PLO. The Operation The strike, dubbed "Wooden Leg" by the IAF, was to be carried out by ten F-15 Eagles (eight carried out the bombing, two were backup). At 07:00 on October 1, the F-15s took off for Tunisia, bound for their longest mission ever. Since their target was 1,280 miles (3,000 km) away, the planes were required to be refueled. A Boeing 707 refueled the craft in mid-flight over the Mediterranean Sea. The Israeli planes dropped precision-guided bombs on the seaside headquarters of the PLO. Though Arafat was not in the headquarters at the time, Israel claimed that some 60 PLO members had been killed, including some leaders of Force-17. The IAF also said it took great pains to avoid civilian casualties, though the PLO and Tunisian government claimed some civilians had been killed. Aftermath The attack provoked a strong outcry, even in the United States, Israel's strongest ally. Though initially labeling the strike a "legitimate response" to terror, the Reagan administration later said the attack "cannot be condoned." The attack also soured relations between the U.S. and the Tunisian president, Habib Bourguiba. Arabs protested the attack around the world, and the UN Security Council denounced the attack 14-0, with the U.S. abstaining. Operation Wooden Leg is regarded as having little effect on terrorism. The raid was used as justification for a number of attacks, including the seizure of the Achille Lauro cruise ship on October 7, and the Abu Nidal attacks on airports in Rome and Vienna in December 1985. It was thought the air raid was conducted mainly for psychological reasons, as it did not hinder the PLO. See also | ||||||||
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