Kozo Okamoto, Japanese militant who took part in a 1972 Tel Aviv airport attack, dies in Beirut
Summary
Kozo Okamoto, a Japanese militant linked to the Japanese Red Army, died in Beirut at age 78. He participated in a 1972 attack on Tel Aviv’s airport that killed 26 people, was imprisoned in Israel for 12 years, and later lived in Lebanon under the protection of the Palestinian Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP).Key Facts
- Kozo Okamoto was part of the Japanese Red Army, a militant group active in the 1970s.
- In 1972, Okamoto and two others attacked Tel Aviv’s international airport, killing 26 people and injuring many.
- Okamoto was wounded during the attack; the two other Japanese attackers were killed.
- He was sentenced to life in prison in Israel but was released in 1985 during a prisoner exchange.
- After his release, Okamoto moved to Lebanon and lived under the protection of the PFLP.
- Okamoto was known as Ahmad al-Yabani, meaning Ahmad the Japanese, in the PFLP.
- The PFLP said the 1972 attack was in response to an Israeli commandos’ attack on Beirut airport in 1968.
- Okamoto rarely appeared in public but made one appearance in 2022 to mark the 50th anniversary of the airport attack.
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