The cartoonist Naji al-Ali, creator of the character Handala, symbol for the Palestinians, was killed in exile in London. He was shot and in a coma for a month.

Although the murder was never resolved, the main suspects were Mossad agents who carried out numerous such operations. Critical of the Israeli and Arab authorities, Naji al-Ali was known for his crude satirical tapes on the Palestinian conflict.

His character was Handala, appearing in the print he published daily in a newspaper and witnessed the occupation of Israel, a Palestinian refugee child whose face was unknown, always behind his back.