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Landmark | The Syrian Embassy in London was implicated in a 1986 plot to bomb an El Al plane, orchestrated by Rafi Eitan to discredit Syria. | 2026-10-12 |
The Syrian Embassy in London was implicated in a 1986 plot to bomb an El Al plane. Ari Ben-Menashe wrote that the plot was orchestrated by Rafael Eitan to discredit Syria, and that Nezar Hindawi was instructed to meet with a Syrian intelligence officer at the embassy, leading him to believe his actions were for the Arab cause.1 On October 24, 1986, Foreign Secretary Geoffrey Howe told the Commons that the government had decided to break diplomatic relations with Syria. The Syrian ambassador, Dr. Haydar, was told to close his embassy and leave the country within 14 days.2 Howe also told the Commons: "There is conclusive evidence of Syrian official involvement with Hindawi." He said the Syrian Government's claim that its staff dealt with Hindawi "throughout as a bona fide journalist" was "frankly incredible."2
Footnotes
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Ben-Menashe, Ari. Profits of War: Inside the Secret U.S.-Israeli Arms Network. Sheridan Square Press, 1992 (TrineDay reprint, 2015). ↩︎
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Howe, Sir Geoffrey, statement on Anglo-Syrian relations, House of Commons, October 24, 1986, HC Deb vol. 102, cols. 1504-14. https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/commons/1986/oct/24/anglo-syrian-relations ↩︎