Leila Khaled
Who was Leila Khaled?
Palestinian militant who gained international notoriety for participating in two aircraft hijackings in 1969 and 1970 as a member of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine.
Biographical data adapted from Wikipedia’s article on Leila Khaled (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Biography
Leila Khaled was born on April 9, 1944, in Haifa, Palestine, when it was under British rule. As a member of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), she gained international attention for her role in aircraft hijackings during the late 1960s and early 1970s. Her involvement made her one of the most well-known figures in the Palestinian resistance movement.
Khaled's first major operation was on August 29, 1969, when she took part in the hijacking of TWA Flight 840, redirecting it from Rome to Damascus. This was part of the PFLP's effort to highlight the Palestinian cause after the 1967 Six-Day War and the Israeli occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip. The operation was successful in gaining media attention and raising Khaled's profile within Palestinian militant circles.
On September 6, 1970, Khaled was involved in one of the four aircraft hijackings known as the Dawson's Field hijackings, targeting El Al Flight 219 from Amsterdam to New York. Unlike her earlier operation, this failed when Israeli security stopped the hijackers. Khaled was detained by British authorities after an emergency landing at Heathrow Airport. Her imprisonment became a focus for further PFLP actions to secure her release.
After her capture, other PFLP members took hostages to negotiate a prisoner exchange. The British government agreed to release Khaled in return for the hostages' safety, and she was freed on October 1, 1970. After her release, she remained with the PFLP but moved away from direct operations. She married Fayez Rashid and became involved in political advocacy and women's rights activism in Palestinian society.
In the following decades, Khaled continued her political activism through speaking, interviews, and engagement in Palestinian political organizations. She has written about her experiences and continues to support Palestinian independence. Her role in the hijackings is still debated internationally, seen by some as a fight for freedom and by others as terrorism. Despite differing opinions on her past actions, she continues to be an influential voice in Palestinian politics, advocating for statehood.
Before Fame
Khaled was born in the last years of the British Mandate for Palestine, and her early life was marked by the political turmoil surrounding the creation of Israel in 1948. Her family, like many other Palestinians, became refugees after the Arab-Israeli War. This experience deeply influenced her perspective and political awareness from a young age.
As she grew up in the aftermath of the 1948 Arab-Israeli War and saw the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Khaled became politically active during her university years. The defeat of Arab forces in the 1967 Six-Day War and Israel's occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip drove many young Palestinians, including Khaled, to become more radical. She joined the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, founded in 1967, which supported armed resistance against Israeli occupation as part of a larger socialist revolutionary plan.
Key Achievements
- Successfully participated in the hijacking of TWA Flight 840 in 1969, bringing international attention to the Palestinian cause
- Became the first woman to hijack an aircraft and one of the most recognizable faces of the Palestinian resistance movement
- Participated in the coordinated Dawson's Field hijackings in 1970, one of the most significant aviation security incidents of the era
- Authored autobiographical works documenting her experiences in the Palestinian liberation movement
- Continued advocacy for Palestinian rights and women's issues within Palestinian society for over five decades
Did You Know?
- 01.She underwent plastic surgery to alter her appearance between her two hijacking operations to avoid detection by security forces
- 02.Her image wearing a keffiyeh and holding an AK-47 became one of the most iconic photographs of the Palestinian resistance movement
- 03.She was the first woman to hijack an airplane and became known as the 'poster girl' of Palestinian militancy
- 04.During her failed 1970 hijacking attempt, she had a hand grenade with the pin removed for most of the flight
- 05.She has been denied entry to multiple countries including the United States due to her involvement in aircraft hijackings