Japanese Red Army terrorist behind deadly 1972 attack on Israeli airport dies at 78

Kozo Okamoto, the Japanese terrorist who carried out a deadly attack on an Israeli airport in 1972, died in Beirut on Thursday at the age of 78. The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) announced his death, mourning him as a "militant comrade" who offered "unwavering support for the Palestinian cause."

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militant comrade Kozo Okamoto… who passed away today

Okamoto was part of a three-man commando from the Japanese Red Army that killed 26 people at Lod airport, now Ben Gurion Airport, near Tel Aviv. The attack, planned by the PFLP, involved Okamoto and two accomplices arriving with fake passports and then opening fire with assault rifles and grenades. The victims included eight Israelis, one Canadian, and 17 US citizens from Puerto Rico.

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unwavering support for the Palestinian cause

Okamoto was wounded and captured during the attack, receiving a life sentence in Israel. He was later released in the 1985 Jibril Agreement prisoner exchange and lived in Lebanon under PFLP protection. He was imprisoned again in Lebanon in 1997 for forgery but avoided extradition to Japan, eventually obtaining political asylum in Lebanon in 2000. He lived in semi-isolation in his final years, making a rare public appearance in May 2022 at a PFLP event marking the 50th anniversary of the massacre.

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until today, he speaks of Palestine and refuses the occupier