The top Mossad spy who befriended his terrorist target — then had him killed

The Black September terror group’s chief of operations Ali Hassan Salameh in an undated photo

Times of Israel writes, “When the Mossad in 1974 sent a solitary agent to live under deep cover in Beirut and arrange the assassination of the mastermind of the 1972 Munich massacre, it gave him one clear order: make no contact with the target.”

“The spy didn’t just defy that order. He ended up becoming one of Ali Hassan Salameh’s closest friends, before becoming one of his killers. Today he is a figure celebrated in Mossad as something of a legend, responsible for one of its most famous successes.”

“The 1972 attack at the Munich Olympics saw 11 Israeli athletes murdered by the Black September Palestinian terror group. In the years following the attack, the Mossad assassinated many of the figures behind the attack, as has been featured in Steven Spielberg’s sometimes-controversial film Munich — but one target eluded the spy organization: Salameh, chief of operations for Black September.”

Ali Hassan Salameh, left, is seen with Palestine Liberation Organization leader Yasser Arafat in an undated photo

“Salameh, known as the “Red Prince,” was the son of a top Arab commander killed in the 1948 war over Israel’s creation. Living in the Lebanese capital Beirut, he was a key ally and potential successor of Yasser Arafat, head of the Palestine Liberation Organization. And he was known for his lavish, playboy lifestyle. But the Mossad couldn’t get near him.” (more…)