Ali Hassan Salameh
Encyclopedia
Ali Hassan Salameh (1940 – January 22, 1979) was the chief of operations—code name
Abu Hassan—for Black September
, the organization responsible for the 1972 Munich massacre
and other attacks. He was also the founder of Force 17
. He was assassinated by Mossad
in January 1979.
during the British mandate, to a wealthy family. He was the son of Shaykh Hassan Salameh
, who was killed in action by the Israel Defence Forces during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, north of Jaffa
. He was educated in Germany
and is thought to have received his military training in Cairo
and Moscow
.
He was known for flaunting his wealth, surrounded by women and driving sports cars, and had a very popular appeal among Palestinian
young men; his nickname underlined his popularity — the "Red Prince.". After it was alleged that he organized what is known as the Munich Massacre
during the 1972 Olympic Games
, he was hunted by the Israeli Mossad
during Operation Wrath of God
. In 1973, Mossad killed an innocent Moroccan
waiter, Ahmed Bouchiki, in what became known as the Lillehammer affair
in Norway, mistaking Bouchiki for Salameh, and resulting in the arrest of some of the Israeli agents.
As a result of the failure of Lillehammer and his alleged CIA protection, Salameh felt relatively safe, and hence didn't act like a man on the run. Having lived under cover in various parts of the Middle East and Europe, in 1978 he married Georgina Rizk
, a Lebanese
celebrity who had been Miss Universe
seven years earlier in 1971. The couple spent their honeymoon in Hawaii
and then stayed at Disneyland, California
. When Rizk became pregnant, she returned to her flat in Beirut
, Lebanon
, where Salameh also rented a separate apartment. By a prior marriage he was a grandson-in-law of Mohammad Amin al-Husayni
According to several sources, Salameh served as a secret contact between the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) and the Central Intelligence Agency
(CIA) from 1970 until his death, guaranteeing not to assassinate US citizens in exchange for financial and political support. However, when asked by the Israelis, the relationship was denied by US officials. He helped protect US citizens in Beirut
, and his role was to facilitate contacts between the Palestinians and the US, in hope of obtaining US support for the Palestinians.
", a British
citizen, took part in Salameh's assassination. She travelled to the Middle East
with a charity supporting Palestinian refugees and arranged a meeting with Salameh in Beirut
, where Salameh was being harbored by the Lebanese government. Chambers learned Salameh's daily routine.
On January 22, 1979, Salameh was in a convoy of two Chevrolet
station wagon
s headed from Rizk's flat to his mother's for a birthday party.
Chambers was on her balcony painting, with her red Volkswagen
parked below on Rue Verdun. As Salameh's convoy passed the Volkswagen at 3:35pm and turned onto Rue Madame Curie, 100 kg of explosive attached to the car by a fellow Mossad agent was remotely exploded, either by Chambers or on her notification to another Mossad agent.
The detonation left Salameh conscious, but severely wounded and in great pain, having pieces of steel shrapnel embedded in his head and throughout his body. He was rushed to the American University Hospital
, where he died on the operating table at 4:03pm. Salameh's four bodyguards were killed. Four bystanders were also killed. Immediately following the operation, the three Mossad officers escaped without a trace, as well as up to 14 other Mossad agents believed to have been involved in the operation.
Code name
A code name or cryptonym is a word or name used clandestinely to refer to another name or word. Code names are often used for military purposes, or in espionage...
Abu Hassan—for Black September
Black September (group)
The Black September Organization was a Palestinian paramilitary group, founded in 1970. It was responsible for the kidnapping and murder of eleven Israeli athletes and officials, and fatal shooting of a West German policeman, during the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, their most publicized event...
, the organization responsible for the 1972 Munich massacre
Munich massacre
The Munich massacre is an informal name for events that occurred during the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, Bavaria in southern West Germany, when members of the Israeli Olympic team were taken hostage and eventually killed by the Palestinian group Black September. Members of Black September...
and other attacks. He was also the founder of Force 17
Force 17
Force 17 was a commando and special operations terror unit of the Palestinian Fatah movement and later of the Office of the Chairman of the Palestinian Authority. It was formed in the early 1970s by Ali Hassan Salameh ....
. He was assassinated by Mossad
Mossad
The Mossad , short for HaMossad leModi'in uleTafkidim Meyuchadim , is the national intelligence agency of Israel....
in January 1979.
Biography
Salameh was born in the Palestinian town of QulaQula
Qula was a Palestinian village in the British Mandate District of Ramla 15 km northeast of Ramla, depopulated during the 1948 Arab-Israeli war.Hasan Salama and his son Ali Hassan Salameh were from Qula.-History:...
during the British mandate, to a wealthy family. He was the son of Shaykh Hassan Salameh
Hasan Salama
Hasan Salama or Hassan Salameh was a commander of the Palestinian Holy War Army in the 1948 Arab-Israeli War along with Abd al-Qadir al-Husayni.- Biography :...
, who was killed in action by the Israel Defence Forces during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, north of Jaffa
Jaffa
Jaffa is an ancient port city believed to be one of the oldest in the world. Jaffa was incorporated with Tel Aviv creating the city of Tel Aviv-Yafo, Israel. Jaffa is famous for its association with the biblical story of the prophet Jonah.-Etymology:...
. He was educated in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
and is thought to have received his military training in Cairo
Cairo
Cairo , is the capital of Egypt and the largest city in the Arab world and Africa, and the 16th largest metropolitan area in the world. Nicknamed "The City of a Thousand Minarets" for its preponderance of Islamic architecture, Cairo has long been a centre of the region's political and cultural life...
and Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
.
He was known for flaunting his wealth, surrounded by women and driving sports cars, and had a very popular appeal among Palestinian
Palestinian people
The Palestinian people, also referred to as Palestinians or Palestinian Arabs , are an Arabic-speaking people with origins in Palestine. Despite various wars and exoduses, roughly one third of the world's Palestinian population continues to reside in the area encompassing the West Bank, the Gaza...
young men; his nickname underlined his popularity — the "Red Prince.". After it was alleged that he organized what is known as the Munich Massacre
Munich massacre
The Munich massacre is an informal name for events that occurred during the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, Bavaria in southern West Germany, when members of the Israeli Olympic team were taken hostage and eventually killed by the Palestinian group Black September. Members of Black September...
during the 1972 Olympic Games
Olympic Games
The Olympic Games is a major international event featuring summer and winter sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The Olympic Games have come to be regarded as the world’s foremost sports competition where more than 200 nations participate...
, he was hunted by the Israeli Mossad
Mossad
The Mossad , short for HaMossad leModi'in uleTafkidim Meyuchadim , is the national intelligence agency of Israel....
during Operation Wrath of God
Operation Wrath of God
Operation Wrath of God ,This title was an invention of later writers, and was most likely not used by the Mossad itself. also called Operation Bayonet, was a covert operation directed by Israel and the Mossad to assassinate individuals alleged to have been directly or indirectly involved in the...
. In 1973, Mossad killed an innocent Moroccan
Morocco
Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...
waiter, Ahmed Bouchiki, in what became known as the Lillehammer affair
Lillehammer affair
The Lillehammer affair was the killing by Mossad agents of a Moroccan waiter, Ahmed Bouchiki, in Lillehammer, Norway on July 21, 1973. The Israeli agents had mistaken their victim for Ali Hassan Salameh, the chief of operations for Black September...
in Norway, mistaking Bouchiki for Salameh, and resulting in the arrest of some of the Israeli agents.
As a result of the failure of Lillehammer and his alleged CIA protection, Salameh felt relatively safe, and hence didn't act like a man on the run. Having lived under cover in various parts of the Middle East and Europe, in 1978 he married Georgina Rizk
Georgina Rizk
Georgina Rizk was Lebanon's first and so far only Miss Universe.Rizk was born in Beirut to a Christian household. She was crowned in the Miss Universe pageant in 1971 in Miami Beach, Florida, USA. She was the first woman from the Middle East and the fourth woman from Asia to win the title...
, a Lebanese
Lebanese people
The Lebanese people are a nation and ethnic group of Levantine people originating in what is today the country of Lebanon, including those who had inhabited Mount Lebanon prior to the creation of the modern Lebanese state....
celebrity who had been Miss Universe
Miss Universe
Miss Universe is an annual international beauty contest that is run by the Miss Universe Organization. The pageant is the most publicized beauty contest in the world with 600 million viewers....
seven years earlier in 1971. The couple spent their honeymoon in Hawaii
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
and then stayed at Disneyland, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
. When Rizk became pregnant, she returned to her flat in Beirut
Beirut
Beirut is the capital and largest city of Lebanon, with a population ranging from 1 million to more than 2 million . Located on a peninsula at the midpoint of Lebanon's Mediterranean coastline, it serves as the country's largest and main seaport, and also forms the Beirut Metropolitan...
, Lebanon
Lebanon
Lebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among...
, where Salameh also rented a separate apartment. By a prior marriage he was a grandson-in-law of Mohammad Amin al-Husayni
Mohammad Amin al-Husayni
Haj Mohammed Effendi Amin el-Husseini was a Palestinian Arab nationalist and Muslim leader in the British Mandate of Palestine. From as early as 1920, in order to secure the independence of Palestine as an Arab state he actively opposed Zionism, and was implicated as a leader of a violent riot...
According to several sources, Salameh served as a secret contact between the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) and the Central Intelligence Agency
Central Intelligence Agency
The Central Intelligence Agency is a civilian intelligence agency of the United States government. It is an executive agency and reports directly to the Director of National Intelligence, responsible for providing national security intelligence assessment to senior United States policymakers...
(CIA) from 1970 until his death, guaranteeing not to assassinate US citizens in exchange for financial and political support. However, when asked by the Israelis, the relationship was denied by US officials. He helped protect US citizens in Beirut
Beirut
Beirut is the capital and largest city of Lebanon, with a population ranging from 1 million to more than 2 million . Located on a peninsula at the midpoint of Lebanon's Mediterranean coastline, it serves as the country's largest and main seaport, and also forms the Beirut Metropolitan...
, and his role was to facilitate contacts between the Palestinians and the US, in hope of obtaining US support for the Palestinians.
Death
It is believed a Mossad agent, pseudonymously known as "Erika ChambersErika Chambers
Erika Chambers is the assumed pseudonym of the Mossad agent behind the action on January 22, 1979 that killed Ali Hassan Salameh, leader of Black September and lead plotter behind the Munich massacre.-Munich Massacre:...
", a British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
citizen, took part in Salameh's assassination. She travelled to the Middle East
Middle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
with a charity supporting Palestinian refugees and arranged a meeting with Salameh in Beirut
Beirut
Beirut is the capital and largest city of Lebanon, with a population ranging from 1 million to more than 2 million . Located on a peninsula at the midpoint of Lebanon's Mediterranean coastline, it serves as the country's largest and main seaport, and also forms the Beirut Metropolitan...
, where Salameh was being harbored by the Lebanese government. Chambers learned Salameh's daily routine.
On January 22, 1979, Salameh was in a convoy of two Chevrolet
Chevrolet
Chevrolet , also known as Chevy , is a brand of vehicle produced by General Motors Company . Founded by Louis Chevrolet and ousted GM founder William C. Durant on November 3, 1911, General Motors acquired Chevrolet in 1918...
station wagon
Station wagon
A station wagon is a body style variant of a sedan/saloon with its roof extended rearward over a shared passenger/cargo volume with access at the back via a third or fifth door , instead of a trunk lid...
s headed from Rizk's flat to his mother's for a birthday party.
Chambers was on her balcony painting, with her red Volkswagen
Volkswagen
Volkswagen is a German automobile manufacturer and is the original and biggest-selling marque of the Volkswagen Group, which now also owns the Audi, Bentley, Bugatti, Lamborghini, SEAT, and Škoda marques and the truck manufacturer Scania.Volkswagen means "people's car" in German, where it is...
parked below on Rue Verdun. As Salameh's convoy passed the Volkswagen at 3:35pm and turned onto Rue Madame Curie, 100 kg of explosive attached to the car by a fellow Mossad agent was remotely exploded, either by Chambers or on her notification to another Mossad agent.
The detonation left Salameh conscious, but severely wounded and in great pain, having pieces of steel shrapnel embedded in his head and throughout his body. He was rushed to the American University Hospital
American University of Beirut
The American University of Beirut is a private, independent university in Beirut, Lebanon. It was founded as the Syrian Protestant College by American missionaries in 1866...
, where he died on the operating table at 4:03pm. Salameh's four bodyguards were killed. Four bystanders were also killed. Immediately following the operation, the three Mossad officers escaped without a trace, as well as up to 14 other Mossad agents believed to have been involved in the operation.
In popular culture
- Ali Hassan Salameh was featured in the plot of the Steven SpielbergSteven SpielbergSteven Allan Spielberg KBE is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, video game designer, and studio entrepreneur. In a career of more than four decades, Spielberg's films have covered many themes and genres. Spielberg's early science-fiction and adventure films were seen as an...
film MunichMunich (film)Munich is a 2005 historical fiction film about the Israeli government's secret retaliation attacks after the massacre of Israeli athletes by the Black September terrorist group during the 1972 Summer Olympics. The film stars Eric Bana and was produced and directed by Steven Spielberg...
as one of the assassination targets. He is seen twice but was not assassinated until after the events of the film. - He appears as the character named Jamal Ramlawi in the spy novel Agents of Innocence by David IgnatiusDavid IgnatiusDavid R. Ignatius , is an American journalist and novelist. He is an associate editor and columnist for The Washington Post. He also co-hosts PostGlobal, an online discussion of international issues at Washingtonpost.com, with Newsweek 's Fareed Zakaria...
, a thinly disguised account of his recruitment by the CIA. - He is briefly mentioned in the Robert LudlumRobert LudlumRobert Ludlum was an American author of 23 thriller novels. The number of his books in print is estimated between 290–500 million copies. They have been published in 33 languages and 40 countries. Ludlum also published books under the pseudonyms Jonathan Ryder and Michael Shepherd.-Life and...
novel The Janson DirectiveThe Janson DirectiveThe Janson Directive is a novel by Robert Ludlum. The posthumous novel was published in 2002, a year after Ludlum's death.-Plot:Paul Janson is an ex-Navy SEAL and former member of a U.S. government covert agency called Consular Operations. He is haunted by his memories of the Vietnam War and his...
, where his alleged links to the CIA are cited as an example of shady deals the United States makes. - Daniel Silva borrowed from the exploits of Ali Hassan Salameh and his relatives to create the background for his fictional spy novel Prince of FirePrince of FireThe Prince of Fire is a 2005 spy novel by Daniel Silva.-Plot summary:After terrorists bomb the Israeli embassy in Rome, agents at Israel’s intelligence service—better known as the Office—struggle to determine a precise motive for the attack. The investigation uncovers a CD filled with highly...
, 2005. - Ali Hassan Salameh is repeatedly referenced in the book By Way of DeceptionBy Way of DeceptionBy Way of Deception: The Making and Unmaking of a Mossad Officer is a book written by Victor Ostrovsky and Claire Hoy about Ostrovsky's alleged career as a katsa in the Israeli Mossad.-Life story:...
by Victor OstrovskyVictor OstrovskyVictor John Ostrovsky is an author, artist and former katsa for the Israeli Mossad . He authored two non-fiction books about his service with the Mossad: By Way of Deception, a New York Times No. 1 bestseller in 1990, and The Other Side of Deception several years later...
in his account of his own recruitment and training to become an officer in MossadMossadThe Mossad , short for HaMossad leModi'in uleTafkidim Meyuchadim , is the national intelligence agency of Israel....
.
Footnotes
- Massacre in Munich: The Manhunt for the Killers Behind the 1972 Olympics Massacre, Michael Bar Bar-Zohar, Eitan Haber ISBN 1-59228-945-2