Japanese militant who took part in 1972 Israel airport attack dies in Beirut

Kozo Okamoto, a Japanese militant involved in the 1972 Lod Airport attack in Israel, died in Beirut on Thursday at age 78 after a long illness, according to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP). Okamoto was one of three Japanese Red Army members who opened fire at the airport, killing 26 people and wounding dozens; his two accomplices died in the attack. He served 12 years in an Israeli prison before being released in a 1985 prisoner exchange and subsequently received political asylum in Lebanon, where he lived under the name Ahmad al-Yabani.

Okamoto’s journey was “marked by immense sacrifices spanning for decades on the battlefields of struggle in support of the Palestinian cause”.

The PFLP stated that the 1972 attack was in retaliation for a 1968 Israeli commando raid on Beirut’s airport. Despite Japan's repeated demands for his extradition, Lebanon consistently refused, as Okamoto was considered a hero by many in the Arab world for his support of the Palestinian cause.