Axios referred to Leila Khaled, a terrorist hijacker for a designated terrorist group, as a “Palestinian activist” in an article published on Thursday morning.
The article centered around Zoom and its efforts to work on “clearcut policies around content moderation and event hosting.” One such example of the company’s moderation efforts involved Khaled. Zoom declined to host an event featuring the terrorist hijacker back in September, Axios noted.
The publication noted that Khaled helped hijack two planes but still opted to call her a “Palestinian activist”:
“We are committed to a free exchange of thoughts and ideas, but we do it according to a set of rules that reflect our values,” Kallmer said when asked about an incident in September, when Zoom decided not to to host a San Francisco State University event featuring Palestinian activist Leila Khaled, who had taken part in two plane hijackings.
Axios did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the Daily Caller regarding its editorial decisions behind calling Khaled a “Palestinian activist.” Axios also did not note that Khaled was working as an international hijacker for the Palestinian terrorist group the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP).
The State Department notes that PFLP was designated a terrorist organization back in 1997.
Khaled hijacked her first plane, which was flying from Rome to Tel Aviv, in 1969 along with another PFLP member. She entered the aircraft with a pistol and a hand grenade and the duo successfully had the plane redirected to Damascus, Syria.
Hi @Axios.
There is a word for someone who has “taken part” in two plane hijackings.
That word is not “activist.”
Leila Khaled is a terrorist, a member of the PFLP, designated as a terrorist group by both the U.S. and the EU.
Fix this.https://t.co/Pxdwm00rQD pic.twitter.com/wkxt6ZlI4X
— American Jewish Committee (@AJCGlobal) December 17, 2020
They allowed the plane to land and evacuated everyone – Khaled told Vice during an interview that she was told not to injure any passengers. After that, the duo blew up the nose of the airplane. (RELATED: Palestinian Advocacy Group Touring US Has Ties To Terrorist Organization)
Khaled spent six weeks being questioned in Syria before being released due to negotiations the country had with Israel, Vice reported. The event made her well-known. As a result, she had six plastic surgeries so that she could continue working for the PFLP without bringing attention to herself.
In 1970, Khaled hijacked a second plane, which was flying from Amsterdam to New York City. This terrorist attack proved far more violent than the last when her c0-hijacker began shooting at guards and passengers who tackled Khaled. Her partner in this crime, Patrick Arguello, was then shot and later died. Khaled told The Guardian that she was not killed in this event because she was holding two hand grenades.
After Khaled was knocked out, the plane made an emergency landing in London. Khaled was held and questioned there but ultimately released because of a deal with the terrorist organization.