International Terrorism: Beyond the Scope of International Law: Tel-Oren v. Libyan Arab Republic
![handle is hein.journals/bjil12 and id is 513 raw text is: INTERNATIONAL TERRORISM: BEYOND THE
SCOPE OF INTERNATIONAL LAW:
TEL-OREN v. LIBYAN ARAB REPUBLIC*
I. Introduction
On March 11, 1978, thirteen members of the Palestinian
Liberation Organization (PLO)1 waged a violent attack upon ci-
vilians en route between Haifa and Tel Aviv, Israel.2 The attack-
ers tortured and killed several passengers on a bus and the occu-
pants of passing cars. The Palestinians ended the attack by
blowing up the bus with grenades.4
The events of March 11 characterize contemporary acts of
terrorism.5 Sometimes involving random violence, terrorism
brings sudden brutal death, usually at the hands of political
fanatics, whose cause of grievance is remote or unknown to its
victims. Such behavior is a source of international conflict,7 fur-
* 726 F.2d 774 (D.C. Cir. 1984) cert. denied, 105 S. Ct. 1354 (1985).
1. The PLO is defined as a loose confederation of Palestinian guerrilla organiza-
tions united only in their determination to ultimately destroy the State of Israel. Freed-
man, Soviet Policy Toward International Terrorism in INTERNATIONAL TERRORISM, NA-
TIONAL REGIONAL AND GLOBAL PERSPECTIVES 115 (Alexander ed. 1976). The movement
emerged in 1964 and established its headquarters in Cairo. Alexander, Terrorism and
the Media in the Middle East in TERRORISM: INTERDISCIPLINARY PERSPECTIVES 180
(1977). The central dominant group within the PLO is the Fatah (Conquest), which is
led by Yassir Arafat. Id. at 181. The aims of the PLO are articulated in the Palestine
National Covenant, a document that demands the liberation of Palestine from Zionists
and asserts the national duty to eliminate Zionism in toto. Id. For a study of the origin
and development of the PLO, see Freedman, supra, at 144 n.1.
2. See N.Y. Times, Mar. 14, 1978, at A6, col. 1. The Palestinians departed from
Lebanon with the intention of taking the civilians hostage to force the release of fellow
PLO members held in Israeli jails. Brief in Opposition to Respondent National Associa-
tion of Arab Americans at 13, Tel-Oren v. Libyan Arab Republic, 726 F.2d 774 (D.C. Cir.
1984) [hereinafter cited as Brief in Opposition to Respondent].
3. Brief in Opposition to Respondent, supra note 2, at 16.
4. Brief in Opposition to Respondent, supra note 2, at 16.
5. See B. JENKINS, INTERNATIONAL TERRORISm A NEW MODE OF CONFLICT 1 (1975)
[hereinafter cited as B. JENKINS]. The term terrorism has no precise or widely accepted
definition. Id. The following, however, has been suggested as a general description:
[Terrorism is tihe threat of violence, individual acts of violence, or a campaign of vio-
lence, designed primarily to instill fear.... Terrorism is violence for effect.., aimed at
the people watching. Id. See infra notes 78-90 and accompanying text.
6. See B. JENKINS, supra note 5, at 1-3. Terrorism may be either selective or indis-
criminate. The latter, frequently called pure terrorism, takes the form of random at-
tacks against civilian bystanders innocent of any involvement on either side of the strug-
gle. Id. at 8. Examples of pure terrorism include the massacre of passengers at the Lod
Airport in Israel and the bombing of the Tower of London. Although pure terrorism is
an effective means of attracting attention and creating alarm, terrorists usually want to
appear selective. Selective attacks include assassinations of particular leaders or mem-](ViewImageLocal?handle=hein.journals/bjil12&div=23&collection=&method=preview&ext=.png&size=3)
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International Terrorism: Beyond the Scope of International Law: Tel-Oren v. Libyan Arab Republic
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