The Ben Bella hijacking backfired by pushing Tunisia and Morocco firmly behind the FLN.

Evidence

On hearing the news, European Algiers erupted in unprecedented delight, while at least one French radio commentator declared: “At last France has dared!” Undoubtedly, the hijacking of Ben Bella and his companions in flagrant breach of international law was a brilliant intelligence coup; but, as so often with such coups, it was to rebound badly on the originators. … Mollet, according to Mendès-France who saw him that day, was in a cold fury when he heard the news. Why, then, did he not disavow the action and release the Algerians? Because, says Mollet, “I could not liberate men who were condemned under common law; my government would have fallen overnight.” … The international Press was overwhelmingly hostile to what was regarded as a flagrant breach of international law. The French ambassador in Tunis, Pierre de Leusse, and Mollet’s Secretary for Moroccan and Tunisian Affairs, Alain Savary, both resigned in protest. At Meknès in Morocco forty-nine French civilians were butchered in fierce anti-French riots. The King, mortified by what he took as a personal affront, and Bourguiba, who had had triumphal arches erected in honour of the Tunis “summit”, henceforth stiffened their resolve to back the Algerian war effort to the utmost. — Horne, Alistair, A Savage War of Peace- Algeria 1954-1962, 487

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to the reader’s thread on how France’s colonial moves drove African leaders into the resistance camp. — connects to: Independent Morocco and Tunisia gave the F.L.N. sanctuaries that assured its survival.; Algerian refugees in Tunisia outnumbered and threatened the Tunisian state; Bourguiba’s Tunisia was militarily decisive for F.L.N. survival (+6 more)

Related

• Suez and the Ben Bella affair destroyed Mollet’s Algerian policy. (similarity 0.84)
• The Ben Bella hijacking sealed off any negotiated end to the war. (similarity 0.83)
• The hijacking saved the F.L.N. from an interior-exterior split (similarity 0.82)
• Mollet lacked the political strength to release Ben Bella as peace negotiators. (similarity 0.82)
• Algerian refugees in Tunisia outnumbered and threatened the Tunisian state (similarity 0.81)
• Bourguiba’s Tunisia was militarily decisive for F.L.N. survival (similarity 0.81)
• F.L.N. terrorism backfired against France more than against Algeria itself (similarity 0.81)
• The hijacking unintentionally healed the FLN’s threatened internal split. (similarity 0.81)
• Ben Bella’s abduction derailed a promising Maghreb peace initiative (similarity 0.81)
• F.L.N. terror backfired against France, not the F.L.N., abroad (similarity 0.80)
• Independent Morocco and Tunisia gave the F.L.N. sanctuaries that assured its survival. (similarity 0.80)
• France’s granting independence to Morocco and Tunisia in 1956 gave the F.L.N. open frontiers (similarity 0.80)
• French decolonization of Morocco and Tunisia handed the F.L.N. open frontiers (similarity 0.80)
• French ruse diverted Ben Bella’s plane to Algiers where all five were captured (similarity 0.79)
• France believed wrongly that toppling Nasser would collapse the Algerian revolt. (similarity 0.79)

Broader Connections

• F.L.N. terrorism backfired against France more than against Algeria itself #expands (0.70)
• Suez and the Ben Bella affair destroyed Mollet’s Algerian policy. #expands (0.60) — Horne, Alistair, A Savage War of Peace- Algeria 1954-1962, 497
• Algeria lacked the established governing structures that Tunisia and Morocco enjoyed #qualifies (0.50) — Horne, Alistair, A Savage War of Peace- Algeria 1954-1962, 1628