Sayeret Matkal
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Sayeret Matkal (Hebrew: סיירת מטכ"ל - General Staff Reconnaissance unit) is the elite special forces unit of the Israeli Defence Force, established in 1957. Its main roles are counter terror, deep reconnaissance and intelligence gathering. The unit is modelled on the British SAS, and organizationally reports to the IDF's Intelligence Branch (A'man). Its nickname in the IDF is simply "The Unit".
It is best known for Operation Thunderbolt, mistakenly better known as Operation Entebbe, in which they rescued more than 100 Air France airline passengers hijacked to Uganda by PLO terrorists, losing the unit commander (Yonathan Netanyahu) to enemy gunfire.
Notable (former) Sayeret Matkal figures
Despite being a top-secret and relatively small army unit, former Sayeret Matkal veterans have a disproportionate influence on the army and public service. This is partly due to the fact that rigorous screening and training ensures that only the most capable and motivated Israeli youths are accepted into the unit as fighters and commanders.
- Ehud Barak - unit commander, later Chief of the General Staff and Israeli Prime Minister
- Benjamin Netanyahu - unit team leader, later Israeli Prime Minister
- Yonathan Netanyahu - unit commander, killed in Operation Entebbe. Benjamin Netanyahu's older brother.
- Shaul Mofaz - unit deputy commander, later Chief of the General Staff and Defense Minister
- Moshe Yaalon - unit commander, later Chief of the General Staff
- Danny Yatom - unit commander, later Major General, head of Mossad and a Knesset member
- Avi Dichter - unit fighter, later head of SHABAK (Shin Bet)
- Several other unit veterans who later became army generals
- There is a wideheld misconception that Prime Minister and former army general Ariel Sharon also served in Sayeret Matkal. This belief is unfounded.
Known operations
Note: Until recently the Israeli army had an official policy of denying existence of this unit. Operations were generally attributed to "elite paratroopers". Sayeret Matkal operations are still kept secret to this day. However, due to the unit's successes in daring operations, it soon became a very publicly-known secret in Israeli society.
- 1968 - Operation Shock - Sabotage of power plant and Nile bridges in Egypt (jointly with Israeli Air Force)
- 1968 - Operation Gift - Sabotage of 14 Arab airliners in Beirut International Airport, Lebanon
- 1969 - Operations Orchard 22, Orchard 37 - Assaults on high voltage wires and a control antenna in Egypt
- 1969 - Operation Butmus - Assault on fortified Green Island, Egypt (jointly with Shayetet 13)
- 1969 - Operation Rooster 53 - Kidnapping an entire Egyptian radar installation (jointly with Israeli Air Force)
- 1970 - Operation Rhodes - Assault on fortified Shaduan Island, Egypt (jointly with Shayetet 13)
- 1972 - Operation Isotope - Foiling a Sabena aircraft hijacking in Tel Aviv, Israel (hostages rescue)
- 1972 - Operation Crate 3 - Kidnapping 5 Syrian intelligence officers
- 1973 - Operation Spring of Youth - Killing Black September terrorist leaders in Beirut, Lebanon
- 1973 - Recapture of Mount Hermon from Syrian commandos in the Yom Kippur War (jointly with Golani Brigade)
- 1974 - Ma'alot massacre (school hostages rescue)
- 1975 - Savoy (hotel hostages rescue)
- 1976 - Operation Entebbe - Foiling an Air France aircraft hijacking in Entebbe, Uganda (hostages rescue)
- 1977 - Reputed foiling of a Lufthansa aircraft hijacking in Mogadishu, Somalia (hostages rescue, jointly with German troops)
- 1978 - Dalal Mughrabi (bus hostages rescue)
- 1980 - Misgav Am (Kibbutz hostages rescue)
- 1984 - Kav 300 affair (bus hostages rescue, see Shin Bet)
- 1988 - Reputed Abu Jihad killing, in Tunis, Tunisia
- 1989 - Sheik Abdul-Karim Obeid kidnapping, Lebanon (see Ron Arad)
- 1994 - Mustafa Dirani kidnapping, Lebanon (see Ron Arad)
- 1994 - Nachshon Waxman (attempted hostage rescue)
See also
Israeli Special Forces:
- Sayeret
- Shayetet-13
- Sayeret Yaalom (formerly Sayeret Yael)
- YAMAM
- Border Police
- Israeli police
- Israeli Defence Forces
- SHABAK (Shin Bet)
Similar foreign special forces units:
- Special forces
- SWAT, Delta Force, Rangers, U.S. special forces (USA)
- SAS (UK)
- GSG-9, KSK (Germany)
- GIGN, EPIGN, RAID (France)
- Spetsnaz (Russia)
- Extensive list of special forces worldwidehe:סיירת מטכ"ל