Hostage Rescue: Understanding the Significance of the Mother's Bus Attack

Urban Warfare Project

On the morning of March 7, 1988, three members of the Palestine Liberation Organization hijacked a bus full of Israeli women traveling to work near the town of Dimona, Israel, in what has become known as the “Mothers’ Bus attack.” Maj. Gen. Avshalom Peled was at the time a platoon commander in the Yamam, an elite Israeli counterterrorist organization that specializes in close-quarters battle, and took part in the rescue operation. He joins this episode and describes his role in the now famous hostage rescue. He also shares some of the many lessons Israeli police learned from the operation.