During the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, Germany, 11 Israeli athletes were killed by members of the Palestinian terrorist organisation Black September. In response, Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir secretly ordered Mossad, Israel’s elite intelligence agency, to track down and eliminate those responsible for the massacre.
Over the next seven years, a covert campaign known as “Operation Wrath of God” targeted and assassinated more than a dozen suspects across Europe and the Middle East. This clandestine operation, involving a specially trained hit-team known as ‘kidon’ (Hebrew for bayonet), has been the subject of numerous books, documentaries and is the central theme of Steven Spielberg’s film “Munich”.
The Munich Massacre
On September 5, 1972, eight members of Black September infiltrated the Olympic Village in Munich. Armed with AK-47s, they took 11 Israeli athletes and coaches hostage, killing two in the initial assault. The terrorists demanded the release of 234 prisoners from Israeli jails. The standoff lasted for hours, during which German authorities attempted negotiations. The terrorists then moved to an airfield where they were told that two Bell UH-1 military helicopters would take them to Cairo. A botched rescue attempt by German police resulted in the deaths of all remaining hostages, a German police officer, and five of the terrorists.
Operation Wrath Of God
In the aftermath of the Munich massacre, Prime Minister Golda Meir, along with Mossad chief Zvi Zamir and counterterrorism adviser Aharon Yariv, devised a plan to eliminate the leadership of Black September and other related terrorist groups. This clandestine mission involved conducting assassinations on foreign soil, which carried massive political and ethical implications. The Israeli leadership believed that decisive action was necessary to prevent future attacks and to deliver justice for the Munich victims.
Planning the Operation
A special unit within Mossad, known as ‘kidon’, was tasked with carrying out the assassinations. This unit comprised highly trained assassins skilled in various forms of combat and covert operations.
The list of targets included key figures believed to be responsible for planning and executing the Munich attack, as well as other high-ranking members of Black September and the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO). The aim was to “smash the head of the serpent” by eliminating its leadership.
The Assassinations
Over the next several years, Mossad operatives carried out a series of high-profile assassinations across Europe and the Middle East. Some of the most notable operations include:
1. Wael Zwaiter
The first target was Wael Zwaiter, a Palestinian poet and translator living in Rome. Mossad believed he was the head of Black September in Italy and involved in the Munich attack. On October 16, 1972, two Mossad operatives ambushed Zwaiter in the lobby of his apartment building and shot him 11 times. However, it later emerged that the intelligence on Zwaiter was uncorroborated, and his connection to the Munich massacre was questionable.
2. Mahmoud Hamshari
Mahmoud Hamshari, the PLO representative in France, was another key target. Mossad operatives tracked him to his Paris apartment and, posing as journalists, managed to plant a bomb in his telephone. On December 8, 1972, they detonated the bomb, killing Hamshari.
3. Hussein Al Bashir
Hussein Al Bashir, a PLO operative based in Cyprus, was targeted next. On January 24, 1973, Mossad agents planted a bomb under his bed in a Nicosia hotel. The explosion killed Bashir instantly.
4. The Beirut Operation
One of the most daring operations took place in Beirut on April 10, 1973. Mossad operatives, along with Israeli commandos from the elite Sayeret Matkal unit, infiltrated Beirut disguised as women. The operation targeted three key figures: Mohammed Youssef al-Najjar, Kamal Adwan, and Kamal Nasser. The hit squad, including Ehud Barak, who later became Prime Minister of Israel, managed to reach their targets’ homes and eliminate them.
5. Ali Hassan Salameh
Ali Hassan Salameh, known as the “Red Prince,” was one of Mossad’s most elusive targets. Salameh was the chief of operations for Black September and a close associate of former PLO chief Yasser Arafat. After a failed attempt in Norway, where it mistakenly killed an innocent Moroccan waiter named Ahmed Bouchikhi, Mossad intensified its efforts to locate Salameh. The breakthrough came in 1979 when an undercover operative, who had befriended Salameh and his wife, provided information. On January 22, 1979, Salameh was killed by a car bomb in Beirut.
