On September 5, 1972, Palestinian terrorists attacked Israel's Olympic team in Munich and killed 11 of its members. Of course one would have to be naive to believe that the Israelis would let such a challenge go unanswered.
Two days after the massacre, Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir formed Committee X to plan the Israeli response. The committee, which included Defense Minister Moshe Dayan, terrorism adviser Aaron Yariv and Mossad chief Zvi Zmir, took charge of organizing the operation, which was codenamed "Wrath of God".
In the first phase, the list of targets was drawn up, which included 20-35 names of the Palestinian organization "Black September" and the "Palestine Liberation Organization" (PLO). The execution of the mission was of course entrusted to the Mossad.
The strike teams were headed by Agent Harari. A few hours before the strike, relatives of the target received a bouquet of flowers and a note of condolence.
The first blows
The first blow was delivered on October 16, 1972 against the representative of the PLO in Italy who, according to the Israelis, was also a member of "Black September". Wael Zwaiter received 12 bullets. On December 8, 1972, the representative of the PLO in France, Mahmoud Hamshari, was followed, who was killed by a bomb.
On the evening of January 24, 1973, the Jordanian Hussein Al Bashir, Fatah's representative in Cyprus, was also killed by a bomb. According to the Israelis, the person in question was not only a member of "Black September", but also had close relations with the Soviet KGB.
Followed on April 6, 1973 by Basil al-Kubaissi, a professor at the University of Beirut who was executed in Paris. According to the Israelis he was the head of the logistics of "Black September".
And the special forces
Three Mossad targets lived in heavily guarded compounds in Lebanon. So the operation against them was undertaken by the special forces of the Israeli armed forces Sayeret Matkal, S hayetet 13 and Sayeret Tzanhanim.
Israeli commandos landed on the shores of Lebanon in inflatable boats and under the guidance of Mossad agents approached their targets in civilian clothes, even dressed as women in burqas. They eventually succeeded in killing Black September operational chief Muhammad Youssef al-Najjar and senior PLO official Kamal Nasser.
Two Lebanese policemen, al-Najjar's wife and a tourist were also killed in the operation. The Israeli paratroopers of Sayeret Tzanhanim occupied and destroyed the six-story headquarters building of the "Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine" , losing two of their men in the conflict.
Israeli commandos also carried out raids against PLO arsenals and warehouses . In these attacks the OAP forces suffered very heavy losses – some sources say up to 100 dead.
Continuity of business
The next victim of the Mossad was Zaiad Muchasi who was killed by a bomb in Athens. Two more members of "Black September" were injured by a bomb in Rome. This was followed by the execution of Mohammad Bouadia, the Algerian high-ranking figure of "Black September", in France.
On December 15, 1979 it was the turn of two Palestinians, Ali Salem Ahmed and Ibrahim Abdul Aziz to be executed in Cyprus. On June 17, 1982, in Italy, high-ranking OAP officials Nazeyh Mayer and Kamal Husain were killed.
On July 23, 1982, Fadl Dani, an official of the OAP, was killed by a bomb in Paris, while on August 21, 1983, Mamoun Meraish was executed by two Mossad agents in Athens.
On June 10, 1986, the general secretary of the OAP Khaled Ahmed Nazal was killed in Athens. It followed on October 21, again in Athens, the bombing death of Munzer Abu Ghazala; On February 14, 1988 they were killed in Cyprus Abu Al Hassan Qasim and Hamdi Adwan, while Marwan Kanafami was injured.
"The Red Prince"
The Israelis were also looking for what they believed to be the leader of the terrorist group that killed their group members in Munich. This was Ali Hassan Salameh, the chosen "Red Prince". They finally found him in Norway but instead, on July 21, 1973, they killed an innocent Moroccan waiter. Six Mossad agents were arrested but released in 1975.
The Israelis continued the search. In January 1974 they had information that he was in Switzerland. In an attack they carried out they killed three Arabs but the "Red Prince" was not found. Continuing the search in London the Israelis lost one of their agents who was killed by a female assassin. This woman, three months later, was killed in turn.
A new attempt against the "Red Prince" in Spain also failed. Finally, on January 22, 1979, Salameh was killed by a bomb in Lebanon along with four of his bodyguards and four more innocent bystanders.