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Short Summary
Main recommendation: The video presents Operation Wrath of God as Israel's covert campaign, run by Mossad, to assassinate people believed to be linked to the 1972 Munich Olympics massacre by the Palestinian group Black September. The video describes it as a long-running operation, lasting more than 20 years, that used targeted killings, bombings, and psychological tactics across Europe and the Middle East.
Key Points
- The operation was authorized by Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir in fall 1972, after Black September killed 11 Israeli athletes at the Munich Olympics.
- Intelligence was used to compile a list of people involved, reportedly 20 to 35 Black September and PLO members, with help from PLO agents working for Mossad and friendly European intelligence services.
- Mossad organized a 15-person team into five squads (Aleph, Bet, Heth, Ayin, and a support group) to carry out and support the killings.
- Early targets included Abdel Wael Zwaiter, shot in Rome on October 16, 1972, and Dr. Mahmoud Hamshari, killed by a bomb hidden under a phone in Paris.
- The video describes collateral errors, including the killing of an innocent waiter in Lillehammer, Norway, and a raid in Beirut and Sidon in April 1973 that killed several PLO leaders.
- Mossad also used psychological warfare, such as publishing obituaries for living people and privately warning Palestinian leaders about their personal risks.
Details Worth Noting
- Concrete instructions: The video does not give actionable instructions for a viewer to follow. Its described operational steps are historical: compile a target list from intelligence, divide a team into roles (killers, guards, hiders, and field agents who follow targets and secure escape routes), use cover identities such as a fake journalist to lure a target, and send a remote detonation signal through a phone line.
- Hamshari was injured in the Paris bombing and died about a month later, from injuries sustained in the blast.
- Dr. Basil al-Kubaisi, a law professor at the American University of Beirut, was shot 12 times in Paris on April 6, 1973, on his way home from dinner. Israel believed he had helped Black September obtain weapons and was involved in other Palestinian plans.
- The video claims Black September never carried out another operation as large as the Munich attack after this campaign.
- The video's account of the operation's scale and the number of targets relies on rumor and partial information; the full list is not publicly known.
Bottom Line
The video portrays Operation Wrath of God as a sustained, intelligence-driven assassination campaign that reached far beyond the original perpetrators and produced significant collateral harm, while the full scope remains uncertain.
