Modern Israel celebrates its 73rd birthday this week. Let me put my cards on the table: I’m not dispassionate when... In the 1960s and ’70s, the airport was the launching pad for some of the world’s most notorious airline hijackings and terrorist operations. In the 1980s, Hezbollah terrorists blew up aircraft on the tarmac; they hijacked American airliners, and murdered the hostages they seized. Beirut airport, located in the southwest part of the Lebanese capital, is adjacent to the slums and refugee camps that are Hezbollah’s historic stronghold. Hezbollah uses the airport as its own — skirting border controls and security protocols to ferry people, weapons, and other forbidden items into Lebanon.