International Women's Day (March 8) is a global celebration of the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women.

This day also marks a call for action for accelerating women's equality. Coincidentally, in March 2022, the PA officially renamed March "the month of leader Dalal al-Mughrabi" in honor of her heroic act and sacrifice.

Who is Dalal al-Mughrabi (1959-1978)?

According to the Institute for Palestine Studies, Dalal al-Mughrabi was born on December 29, 1959, in Sabra refugee camp near Beirut to a Palestinian father and a Lebanese mother. Her family resided in the camp with 11 other siblings. Dalal became a legend after she led a group of 12 fighters in one of the most talked-about attacks against Israeli forces decades ago. Her mission was to take hostages and demand the release of Palestinian freedom fighters held in Israeli prisons.

In this week, 47 years ago, Dalal al-Mughrabi fell in the line of duty with eight other fighters during an operation she led on the highway between Haifa and Tel Aviv. The operation aimed at taking control of hostages and demanding the release of a number of Palestinian detainees held in Israeli prisons. Al-Mughrabi was dubbed “the Bride of Jaffa,” and the operation was named the "Kamal Idwan Operation."

By the way, Kamal Idwan was Chairman Arafat's deputy and one of the 3 PLO leaders who were assassinated on April 9, 1973, by one of the IDF operations, which was led by Ehud Barak. He dressed as a woman, entered Beirut with a group of soldiers from the elite Sayeret Matkal unit, and assassinated several key players from the Palestinian Liberation Organization.

Among those killed in what is called "Operation Fountain of Youth" were PLO leaders Muhammad Youssef al-Najjar (Abu Youssef), Arafat's deputy Kamal Adwan, and Kamal Nasser, Fatah's official spokesman.

Why was Dalal chosen to lead the operation?

The raid began on the night of April 9 when Israeli Navy ships brought the combat soldiers to the coast just off of Beirut, where commando boats were waiting to ferry them to the shore. When they reached the shore, the soldiers, disguised as civilians, entered vehicles driven by Mossad agents, who then took them to their different targets. For that reason, Abu Jihad (Khalil Wazir), the second man in charge of the PLO, chose a real woman to lead the operation. He was the man who planned the operation.

While off the coast of Beirut, Barak changed clothes, disguising himself as a brunette while his deputy Muki Betser dressed as a blonde woman. Once on land, Barak led his troops into the buildings where their targets were located. Al-Najjar’s wife was killed during the attack, as well as two Lebanese policemen.

Dalal's group hijacked a bus on the coastal highway of Israel and raised the Palestinian flag on the bus for several hours, declaring 95 kilometers of highway as a "free Palestine" zone. PM Menachem Begin's office then refused to negotiate with the group and ordered soldiers to do everything to prevent them from reaching Tel Aviv.

The office of PM Menachem Begin was informed of the bus that had reached the area of Sidna Ali [Hertzlia], and he assigned a special army unit commanded by Ehud Barak with [the task of] attacking the bus with machine guns and shells, while using aircraft and tanks, and killing everyone who was on it.

Dalal and eight other fighters were killed in the operation. Two of the fighters were captured and were initially sentenced to death and then had their sentence reduced to 12 life sentences + 10 years. However, they were later released in 1985 in a POW exchange between Israel and the PFLP-GC. Meanwhile, Israel declared that 39 Israelis were killed in the clashes and more than 100 were wounded.

She inspired thousands of young Palestinian and Lebanese women to follow in her footsteps, such as Sana Muhaidaly, Yvonne Abboud, Wafa Edris, Ayat Al Akhras, and Hanadi Jaradat, among others.

According to her mother, who spoke to an Arabic TV channel, “Dalal will never be forgotten as she will remain an admirable symbol of the Palestinian women’s struggle and an example to be emulated by young Palestinian men and women who will pursue the armed struggle until the liberation of Palestine.”

After killing Palestinian freedom fighters, Dalal al-Mughrabi on March 11, 1978, the Israeli commander Ehud Barak, who later became PM of Israel, dragged her body from her hair and took an infamous trophy picture as a souvenir.

No one in her family knew about the operation except her sister Rashida, who only knew that her sister would take part in a special operation in occupied Palestine.

The day before she left, Dalal asked her mother to fix her favorite dish, stuffed squash and stuffed eggplant. She was sad that, because her father was not home, she was not able to say goodbye to him, but she left him a short goodbye note. This month, and every March, Palestinians commemorate a Palestinian heroine who sacrificed herself for her country.

Mahmoud El-Yousseph is a Palestinian freelancer for Islamicity.com and ColumbusFreepress.com. He can be reached at [email protected].