|
Ali Hassan Salameh, alias Abu Hassan and The Red Prince (1940, date unknown - January 22nd, 1979) was a Palestinian terrorist and the chief of operations of Black September. He is best remembered for ordering the Munich Massacre.
Early Life edit
Salameh was born in Qula in Palestine at some point in 1940, to Palestinian military commander Hasan Salama. As a rich young man, he soon gained the nickname "The Red Prince", and was recruited by Fatah, the group that controls Black September, at an unknown point.
Munich Massacre edit
Having become security chief of Fatah and chief of operations of Black September, Salameh ordered a terror attack on the 1972 Munich Olympics in order to fight for Palestinian independence from Israel. On September 5th, a group of men lead by Luttif Afif stormed into the Olympic village and took ten Israeli athletes and their coach Moshe Weinberg hostage. Weinberg and weightlifter Yoseff Romano were killed by the terrorists while trying to fight back. The terrorists then marched the nine remaining hostages to Apartment 3, where they holed up until the West German police arrived the next day. During the ensuing shootout, a police officer was shot and killed and Afif threw a grenade as the hostages were evacuated, killing all nine. Afif and four other terrorists were then shot to death by police.
Operation Wrath Of God And Death edit
After the Munich Massacre, the Israeli secret service Mossad began targeting Black September members responsible for the attack. After assassinating Black September leaders Mohammed Yousef al-Najjar, Kamal Adwan and Kamal Nassir, they turned their attention to Salameh in what is now known as "Operation Wrath Of God". On July 21st, 1973, Mossad received a tipoff, possibly from Salameh, who was enjoying government protection in Lebanon, that Salameh was hiding in Norway, resulting in Mossad agents assassinating waiter Ahmed Bouchiki after mistaking him for Salameh.
In 1979, Mossad discovered Salameh's true location in Lebanon, and sent an agent known only by her pseudonym of "Erika Chambers" to assassinate him. On January 22nd, a fellow Mossad agent attached 100kg of explosives to Salameh's car, which were then detonated by Chambers as Salameh drove past. Salameh's government bodyguards and four bystanders were killed instantly, whilst Salameh was rushed to hospital, where he died of his injuries at 4:03 pm. He was buried on January 24th, and his funeral was attended by Fatah commander Yasser Arafat and 20,000 other Palestinians.