Kozo Okamoto, Japanese man behind 1972 Israel airport attack, dies at 78

Kozo Okamoto, the Japanese man who took part in the deadly 1972 attack on Israel’s Lod Airport, has died in Beirut, Lebanon, at the age of 78.

The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) announced his death on Thursday and praised him for supporting the Palestinian cause.

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Okamoto was one of three members of the Japanese Red Army who carried out the airport attack on May 30, 1972. The attack killed 26 people, including Israelis, a Canadian and Christian pilgrims from Puerto Rico.

The other two attackers died during the assault, but Okamoto was captured, tried in Israel and sentenced to life in prison.

He was released in 1985 as part of a prisoner exchange and later moved to Lebanon. In 2000, Lebanon granted him asylum after Japan sought his extradition.

Okamoto spent the rest of his life in Lebanon under the care of the PFLP and remained wanted by Japanese authorities.

The PFLP, which has been designated a terrorist organisation by the United States and the European Union, was known for hijackings and other attacks in the 1960s and 1970s.