Terrorist hijacker is an "icon, embodying the heroism of the heroes, immortalizing her name in the annals of the female fighters" - Fatah
Text and image posted on the official Fatah Facebook page
Posted text:
“The death of fighter and released prisoner
Theresa Is'haq Halsa (Umm Salman)
(i.e., terrorist hijacker), 1954-2020
By: Staff Major-General Arabi Kloub – April 7, 2020
Fighter Theresa Is'haq Halsa, the icon of the struggle, embodied the heroism of the heroes, immortalized her name in the annals of the female fighters, and wove it from the silk of the dress of Palestinian heritage – the garb of the female fighters.
Your name will remain a symbol in the history of Palestine and Jordan, one of the symbols of the first female self-sacrificing fighters (Fedayeen), of good memory and good reputation.
The Fatah Movement eulogized fighter, released prisoner, and director of the wounded in the Jordanian arena (Theresa Is'haq Halsa) [parentheses in source], the first Jordanian female self-sacrificing fighter to hijack a plane…
Your name will be commemorated in history in letters of light as long as we live. Peace to the icon of the revolution who will remain eternal among us forever and ever. [PA] Minister of Women's Affairs Dr. Amal Hamad and all employees of the governmental Ministry [of Women’s Affairs] eulogized her in full sorrow and pain – sister, released prisoner, Palestinian Jordanian fighter (Theresa Halsa) [parentheses in source], director of the wounded in the Jordanian arena – and [Hamad] said: 'Fighter Theresa Halsa was a role model of struggle for the revolutionary activity of the women that is to be imitated in giving and responsibility, tolerant and a fighter. She participated in the national activity and gave her life to the end for her homeland and her people while protecting the rights of the people and the Palestinian women.
Mercy and peace on her spirit, honor and glory for her fragrant memory; we part from Theresa Halsa after she fulfilled her role in the best way.'"
Theresa Halsa – 17-year-old female Israeli Arab terrorist and a member of the Black September terror organization, a secret branch of Fatah, who participated in the hijacking of Sabena flight 571 from Vienna to Tel Aviv in May 1972. When the plane landed in Israel, the terrorists demanded the release of 315 Palestinian terrorists from Israeli prisons. Israel mounted a rescue operation led by Ehud Barak (who later served as Israeli Prime Minister), in which Benjamin Netanyahu (who also later served as Israeli Prime Minister) participated. During the rescue the two male hijackers, Ali Taha Abu Snina and Abed Al-Aziz Atrash, were killed, and one passenger, 22-year-old Miriam Anderson, was also killed accidentally. The two female hijackers, Rima Tannous and Theresa Halsa, were captured and sentenced to life imprisonment – Halsa for 220 years. They were released in November 1983 in a prisoner exchange. Halsa was expelled to Jordan where she lived until she died of cancer on March 28, 2020.