Fawaz Younis

Who is Fawaz Younis?

Fawaz Younis, also called Fawaz Yunis and Nazeeh, is a Lebanese hijacker who was arrested and imprisoned by the United States. He was later deported after serving sixteen years of his sentence.

He was born in Lebanon and became an Amal Movement militiaman and then a part of Hezbollah. On June 11, 1985, he led a team that hijacked Royal Jordanian Flight 402 with four American nationals on board. The Jordanian airliner was sitting on the tarmac at Beirut International Airport when it was stormed by Younis' team. After a 13-hour siege, the hijackers released the 70 passengers and blew up the plane. Younis appeared on television as a spokesman for the hijackers.