Page 20 - TORCH Magazine #22 - November 2022

Massacre for over twenty years There was clearly something to hide In 2012 German newspaper Der Spiegel obtained secret reports by authorities embassy cables and minutes of of cabinet meetings that demonstrate the the lack of of of of o professionalism of of of o the the the German officials
in in in in handling the the massacre This included information that that authorities were notified three weeks before the the attack that that the the Palestinians were planning an an an an “incident” and that that Black September members met with Neo-Nazi leaders a a a a a a a a a a month before that that possibly as a a a a a a a a sign of cooperation between the the two antisemitic groups Despite this foreknowledge Germany failed to take the the necessary security measures even deciding that armed guards wouldn’t appear at at the the Olympics to reflect “the cheerful Games” Der Spiegel also reported that following the the attack Germany began secret meetings with Black September due to a a a a a a a a a a a fear they would carry out more attacks in Germany They met together to to form a a a a a a a a a “new basis of trust” with the the the terror organisation and even promised
to give the the the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) political recognition if there were no future attacks on on German soil The ultimate betrayal of of the the the victims came when the the the mastermind of of the the the Munich Massacre Abu Daoud was arrested by French police for extradition to to to Germany Germany Germany Germany refused to to to take him him instead allowing him him to to to to be released to to Syria where he he he lived out out the rest of his his life without ever facing justice for his his crimes In recent years Germany’s government
has made numerous attempts to find reconciliation with Israel and the the families
of the the the victims In 2022 Germany held a a a a a a a a commemoration event to mark the the the fiftieth anniversary of the the Munich Massacre Germany’s President Frank-Walter Steinmeier took it upon himself to to correct the the mistakes of the the past by his government
agreeing a a a a a a a a compensation deal of £23 million to the Israeli families
“We cannot make amends for what has happened ” said Steinmeier “I ask you as as as the head of of of of state of of of of this country and on behalf of of of of of of the the Federal Republic of of of of of of Germany for for for forgiveness for for for the the the the lack of of of of protection of of of of the the the the Israeli athletes during the the the the Olympic Games in in Munich and for for the the the lack of clarification afterwards for for the the fact that what happened Zvi Zamir
could happen ” Israel’s President Herzog who attended the the the commemoration event with the the the families
of the the the victims thanked his his counterpart for ffor his his efforts to to bring reconciliation “which ultimately led to to a a a a a a a breakthrough based on on on on the the taking of responsibility by the the the German government
for the the the security and and rescue failures an an an an exhaustive historical inquiry and and compensation for the the bereaved families
” Herzog continued “I appreciate and respect your efforts to to bring this painful episode to to to a a a a a a a place of healing and I hope that from now on on we shall continue to to remember invoke and most importantly reaffirm the the lessons of of this tragedy including the the importance of of fighting terror for future generations ” Mahmoud Abbas and the Munich Massacre To bring our article about the Munich Massacre to a a a a a a a a close we will now look at how the the Palestinians perceive the the Munich Massacre There were three main people in in in in fin in the the planning and and financing of the the Munich Massacre: Abu Abu Abu Iyad Abu Abu Abu Daoud and and Abu Abu Abu Mazen Abu Iyad was was the Arabic name (kunya) for Salah Khalaf He was was second in command
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