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Ali Hassan Salameh (, ; 1 April 1941 – 22 January 1979;
code name A code name, codename, call sign, or cryptonym is a code word or name used, sometimes clandestinely, to refer to another name, word, project, or person. Code names are often used for military purposes, or in espionage. They may also be used in ...
: Abu Hassan) was a Palestinian militant who was the chief of operations for
Black September Black September (), also known as the Jordanian Civil War, was an armed conflict between Jordan, led by Hussein of Jordan, King Hussein, and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), led by chairman Yasser Arafat. The main phase of the fight ...
and founder of
Force 17 Force 17 () was a commando and special operations 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 (Abu Hassan). Initially, the ...
. He was assassinated in January 1979 as part of an assassination campaign by Mossad.


Biography

Salameh was born in the Palestinian town of Qula, near the city of
Jaffa Jaffa (, ; , ), also called Japho, Joppa or Joppe in English, is an ancient Levantine Sea, Levantine port city which is part of Tel Aviv, Tel Aviv-Yafo, Israel, located in its southern part. The city sits atop a naturally elevated outcrop on ...
, to a wealthy family on 1 April 1941. He was the son of Shaykh Hassan Salameh, who was killed in action by the
Israeli army The Israeli Ground Forces () are the Army, ground forces of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). The commander is the GOC Army Headquarters, General Officer Commanding with the rank of major general, the ''Mazi'', subordinate to the Chief of the Gen ...
during the
1948 Palestine war The 1948 Palestine war was fought in the territory of what had been, at the start of the war, British-ruled Mandatory Palestine. During the war, the British withdrew from Palestine, Zionist forces conquered territory and established the Stat ...
near
Lydda Lod (, ), also known as Lydda () and Lidd (, or ), is a city southeast of Tel Aviv and northwest of Jerusalem in the Central District of Israel. It is situated between the lower Shephelah on the east and the coastal plain on the west. The ci ...
. Ali Salameh was educated in
Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
and is thought to have received his military training in
Cairo Cairo ( ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Egypt and the Cairo Governorate, being home to more than 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, L ...
and
Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...
. He was known for flaunting his wealth, being surrounded by women and driving sports cars, and having popular appeal among
Palestinian Palestinians () are an Arab ethnonational group native to the Levantine region of Palestine. *: "Palestine was part of the first wave of conquest following Muhammad's death in 632 CE; Jerusalem fell to the Caliph Umar in 638. The indigenous p ...
young men; his nickname underlined his popularity—the "Red Prince" (). He served as the security chief of
Fatah Fatah ( ; ), formally the Palestinian National Liberation Movement (), is a Palestinian nationalist and Arab socialist political party. It is the largest faction of the confederated multi-party Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and ...
. After the Munich massacre during the 1972
Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games (Olympics; ) are the world's preeminent international Olympic sports, sporting events. They feature summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a Multi-s ...
, he was hunted by the Israeli
Mossad The Institute for Intelligence and Special Operations (), popularly known as Mossad ( , ), is the national intelligence agency of the Israel, State of Israel. It is one of the main entities in the Israeli Intelligence Community, along with M ...
during its assassination campaign. In 1973, Mossad agents killed an innocent Moroccan waiter, Ahmed Bouchiki, in what became known as the
Lillehammer affair The Lillehammer affair (, ''Parshat Lillehammer'', Norwegian: ''Lillehammer-saken'') was the murder of Ahmed Bouchikhi, a Moroccan waiter and the brother of the French musician Chico Bouchikhi, by Mossad agents in Lillehammer, Norway, on 21 ...
in Norway, mistaking Bouchiki for Salameh, and resulting in the arrest of some of the Israeli agents. As a result of the failure in Lillehammer and his alleged CIA protection, Salameh felt relatively safe. Having lived under cover in various parts of the Middle East and Europe, in 1978, he married
Georgina Rizk Georgina Rizk () (born 3 January 1953) is a Lebanese model, socialite and beauty queen. She represented Lebanon and won Miss Universe 1971, making her the first Lebanese woman to win that title and the first Arab winner in the history of the com ...
, a Lebanese celebrity who had been
Miss Universe Miss Universe is an annual international major beauty pageant that is run by a Thailand and Mexican-based Miss Universe Organization.Natalie Tadena (July 2, 2015"Donald Trump's Miss USA Pageant Lands on Reelz Cable Channel". ''The Wall Stree ...
seven years earlier. The couple spent their honeymoon in
Hawaii Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...
and then stayed at
Disneyland Disneyland is a amusement park, theme park at the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California. It was the first theme park opened by the Walt Disney Company and the only one designed and constructed under the direct supervision of Walt Disney, ...
in
California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...
. When Rizk became pregnant, she returned to her flat in
Beirut Beirut ( ; ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, just under half of Lebanon's population, which makes it the List of largest cities in the Levant region by populatio ...
where Salameh also rented a separate apartment. Rizk was six months pregnant at the time of his death. Their son Ali Salameh is a political science graduate who studied in Canada. By a prior marriage he was a grandson-in-law of
Mohammad Amin al-Husayni Muhammad (8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious and political leader and the founder of Islam. According to Islam, he was a prophet who was divinely inspired to preach and confirm the monotheistic teachings of Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, ...
. He had two sons from his first marriage to Um Hassan. Salameh served as the key bridge between the
Palestine Liberation Organisation The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO; ) is a Palestinian nationalist coalition that is internationally recognized as the official representative of the Palestinian people in both the occupied Palestinian territories and the diaspora. ...
(PLO) and the
Central Intelligence Agency The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA; ) is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States tasked with advancing national security through collecting and analyzing intelligence from around the world and ...
(CIA) from 1970 until his death after being recruited as a CIA asset by Robert Ames. The PLO, at the request of the US, had undertaken steps to help ensure the security of both the US Embassy—Salameh responded by posting a PLO guard unit there—and, more generally, American citizens resident in Lebanon. The contacts later developed more extensively as the PLO offered its intelligence assistance in regard to larger regional issues. The US had undertaken with Israel to avoid contacts with the PLO, but US security interests under
Gerald Ford Gerald Rudolph Ford Jr. (born Leslie Lynch King Jr.; July 14, 1913December 26, 2006) was the 38th president of the United States, serving from 1974 to 1977. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, Ford assumed the p ...
, on the advice of
Henry Kissinger Henry Alfred Kissinger (May 27, 1923 – November 29, 2023) was an American diplomat and political scientist who served as the 56th United States secretary of state from 1973 to 1977 and the 7th National Security Advisor (United States), natio ...
, enabled an unofficial relationship which, when discovered by Israel, deeply disturbed Israeli officials. When asked by the Israelis, US officials denied the relationship. The desire to disrupt the channels between the US and the PLO was one of the motivations behind his assassination. Salameh received dozens of CIA alerts of the Mossad's intention to assassinate him. The CIA also provided him with encrypted communications equipment and considered sending him an armored car. He was also warned by the CIA that his practice of driving around Beirut in convoys of vehicles carrying bodyguards left him vulnerable to an Israeli assassination.


Assassination

In June 1978, the Mossad intensified its efforts to assassinate Salameh, codenamed Operation Maveer (Burner). Michael Harari was in charge of the operation. A Lebanese agent working for
Israeli military intelligence The Israeli Military Intelligence (), often abbreviated to Aman (), is the central, overarching military intelligence body of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). Aman was created in 1950, when the Intelligence Department was spun off from the IDF' ...
supplied key details on Salameh's routine. Mossad operatives were subsequently deployed to Beirut to monitor Salameh, one of whom enrolled at the gym where he regularly exercised and befriended him. As many as fourteen Mossad agents were involved in the operation. One of the agents believed to be involved was
Erika Chambers Erika Chambers (; born 1948), also known as Agent Penelope, is a British-Israeli Mossad operative behind the action on 22 January 1979 that killed Ali Hassan Salameh, leader of Black September and lead plotter behind the Munich massacre. Biograp ...
, who arrived in Beirut in October 1978 posing as an NGO staffer wishing to assist Palestinian orphans. She rented a flat overlooking Salameh's apartment. Two other agents involved in the operation using the aliases Peter Scriver and Roland Kolberg entered Lebanon on British and Canadian passports respectively. From October 1978, over a period of six weeks, Mossad agents observed Salameh, noting that he spent most afternoons with Rizk at her apartment in Snoubra, West Beirut, and when not in meetings spent time at the gym and at a
sauna A sauna (, ) is a room or building designed as a place to experience dry or wet heat sessions or an establishment with one or more of these facilities. The steam and high heat make the bathers perspire. A thermometer in a sauna is used to meas ...
. An initial plan to kill him with a bomb attack at the sauna was vetoed for fear of excessive civilian casualties. The Mossad decided to kill him with a car bomb. Explosives were placed in the trunk of a
Volkswagen Volkswagen (VW; )English: , . is a German automotive industry, automobile manufacturer based in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony, Germany. Established in 1937 by German Labour Front, The German Labour Front, it was revitalized into the global brand it ...
which was then parked close to Salameh's apartment block. On 22 January 1979, Salameh was in a convoy of two
Chevrolet Chevrolet ( ) is an American automobile division of the manufacturer General Motors (GM). In North America, Chevrolet produces and sells a wide range of vehicles, from subcompact automobiles to medium-duty commercial trucks. Due to the promi ...
station wagon A station wagon (American English, US, also wagon) or estate car (British English, UK, also estate) is an automotive Car body style, body-style variant of a Sedan (automobile), sedan with its roof extended rearward over a shared passenger/cargo ...
s headed from Rizk's flat to his mother's for a birthday party. Chambers was on her balcony painting, with the
Volkswagen Volkswagen (VW; )English: , . is a German automotive industry, automobile manufacturer based in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony, Germany. Established in 1937 by German Labour Front, The German Labour Front, it was revitalized into the global brand it ...
parked below on Rue Verdun (an upscale commercial and residential street in
Beirut Beirut ( ; ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, just under half of Lebanon's population, which makes it the List of largest cities in the Levant region by populatio ...
). As Salameh's convoy passed the Volkswagen at 3:35 pm and turned onto
Rue Madame Curie Rue Madame Curie is a street in Beirut, Lebanon. The street, which is named in honor of Marie Curie, the Polish–French physicist–chemist, begins at Rue Badr Demachkieh in the Raouché neighborhood of the Ras Beirut district, running west–ea ...
, 100 kg of explosive attached to the car by a fellow Mossad agent was remotely exploded, either by Chambers or on her signal to another Mossad agent. Harari watched the explosion through a telescope from an
Israeli Navy The Israeli Navy (, ''Ḥeil HaYam HaYisraeli'', ; ) is the Israel Defense Forces#Arms, naval warfare service arm of the Israel Defense Forces, operating primarily in the Mediterranean Sea theater as well as the Gulf of Eilat and the Red Sea th ...
missile boat off the coast of Beirut. 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 of Beirut The American University of Beirut (AUB; ) is a private, non-sectarian, and independent university chartered in New York with its main campus in Beirut, Lebanon. AUB is governed by a private, autonomous board of trustees and offers programs le ...
, where he died on the operating table at 4:03 p.m. Salameh's four bodyguards were also killed in the explosion. Four bystanders were also killed. In addition, at least 16 people were injured in the blast. Immediately following the operation, the Mossad agents involved in the operation left the country. Chambers and two other agents were picked up by boat on the Beirut shore and taken to an Israeli missile boat.


Funeral

Salameh was buried in Beirut after a public funeral ceremony attended by
Yasser Arafat Yasser Arafat (4 or 24 August 1929 – 11 November 2004), also popularly known by his Kunya (Arabic), kunya Abu Ammar, was a Palestinian political leader. He was chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) from 1969 to 2004, Presid ...
and about 20,000 Palestinians on 24 January 1979.


In popular culture

* Ali Hassan Salameh was featured in the plot of the
Steven Spielberg Steven Allan Spielberg ( ; born December 18, 1946) is an American filmmaker. A major figure of the New Hollywood era and pioneer of the modern blockbuster, Spielberg is widely regarded as one of the greatest film directors of all time and is ...
film ''
Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...
'' as one of the assassination targets. He is seen twice portrayed by
Mehdi Nebbou Mehdi Nebbou (born 10 January 1971) is a French actor. Early life and education Mehdi Nebbou was born on 10 January 1974 in Bayonne, Pyrénées-Atlantiques, France, to a German mother and an Algerian father. His brother is the film director Safy ...
, but was not assassinated until after the events of the film. * He appears as the character named Jamal Ramlawi in the
spy novel Spy fiction is a genre of literature involving espionage as an important context or plot device. It emerged in the early twentieth century, inspired by rivalries and intrigues between the major powers, and the establishment of modern intellig ...
''Agents of Innocence'' by
David Ignatius David Reynolds Ignatius (born May 26, 1950) is an American journalist and novelist. He is an associate editor and columnist for ''The Washington Post''. He has written eleven novels, including ''Body of Lies (novel), Body of Lies'', which direct ...
, a thinly disguised account of his recruitment by the CIA. * He is briefly mentioned in the
Robert Ludlum Robert Ludlum (May 25, 1927 – March 12, 2001) was an American author of 27 Thriller (genre), thriller novels, best known as the creator of Jason Bourne from the original ''Bourne (novel series), The Bourne Trilogy'' series. The number of copi ...
novel '' The Janson Directive'', 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 Fire'', 2005. * Ali Hassan Salameh is repeatedly referenced in the book '' By Way of Deception'' by
Victor Ostrovsky Victor John Ostrovsky (; born 28 November 1949) is an Israeli-Canadian author and intelligence officer who was a case officer in the Israeli Mossad for 14 months before his dismissal. After leaving the Mossad, Ostrovsky authored two books about ...
in his account of his own recruitment and training to become an officer in
Mossad The Institute for Intelligence and Special Operations (), popularly known as Mossad ( , ), is the national intelligence agency of the Israel, State of Israel. It is one of the main entities in the Israeli Intelligence Community, along with M ...
.


Bibliography

* which includes black-and-white
photographic plate Photographic plates preceded film as the primary medium for capturing images in photography. These plates, made of metal or glass and coated with a light-sensitive emulsion, were integral to early photographic processes such as heliography, d ...
s and which also include
Yasser Arafat Yasser Arafat (4 or 24 August 1929 – 11 November 2004), also popularly known by his Kunya (Arabic), kunya Abu Ammar, was a Palestinian political leader. He was chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) from 1969 to 2004, Presid ...
, together with an index. *


See also

* Yuval Aviv


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Salameh, Ali Hassan 1941 births 1979 deaths Assassinated Palestinian people Deaths by car bomb in Lebanon People killed in Mossad operations Members of the Black September Organization Palestinian mass murderers Palestinian nationalists Mossad assassinations following the Munich massacre Palestine Liberation Organization members