Historical story

Kidon. A Jewish squadron of secret killers

Anyone who (...) leads a terrorist group already knows that there is no immunity. We target everyone, said a representative of the Israeli government in 2004. It was not an empty declaration. The words were spoken shortly after the murder of Hamas' spiritual leader Sheikh Ahmed Jassin.

Within the structures of the Jewish secret services, there is a special group dealing with the physical liquidation of Israel's enemies. It is called "Kidon", which means "bayonet" in Hebrew. The establishment of the branch was a consequence of the massacre of Jewish sportsmen in Munich in 1972. The Israeli government then decided to establish the X Committee. It was to annihilate all terrorists associated with the attack. The operation was codenamed "The Wrath of God".

Jewish agents are perhaps the only ones in the world that pride themselves on the fact that they can take the life of their country's enemies in the majesty of the law. Meir Amit, one of the Mossad directors, addressed his subordinates as follows:

Mossad resembles an executioner or a doctor who gives the condemned a lethal injection. All your actions are supported by the authority of the State of Israel. When you kill, you are not breaking the law. You only carry out the sentence approved by the incumbent Prime Minister .

Israeli AH-64 Apache training in Greece. It was such a helicopter that was used to kill Sheikh Ahmed Jassin (photo:Israel Defense Forces, CC BY-SA 2.0).

Truth or myth?

It is difficult to say whether the information about "Kidon" known from the media is reliable. Secret services are unlikely to reveal their secrets, especially when it comes to a unit of this type. The data available can be as much journalistic fantasy as it is deliberate Mossad disinformation. It is also unclear whether the enforcers are solely subordinate to this agency or whether they also act for the benefit of the other services.

In the book "Fist of David. Israel's Secret Service "Artur Górski quotes the writer Gordon Thomas, who imagines the" Kidon "strike unit in this way:

They have a poison lab in vials at their disposal. They have long and short knives and a piano string to strangle the victim. They have explosives no bigger than sore throat lozenges that can blow your head to shreds. Plus there are pistols and sniper rifles .

The disclosure of liquidation operations proves that this description may be close to the truth. Both the successful ones and the spectacular failures.

The Engineer's last phone call

Jahia Ajasz known as the Engineer was a leading Palestinian bomb designer. Both Hamas and the Syrian Islamic Jihad used his services. He quickly found himself in the target of Jewish security services. Responsible for its neutralization was the civil counterintelligence, that is, Szabak.

Mossad killers are certainly undergoing training in krav Maga (photo:Israel Defense Forces, public domain).

It was very difficult for Israeli agents to approach their victim. Ayas had a perfectly disguised hideout somewhere in the West Bank. Additionally, it was guarded by armed bodyguards and he himself was extremely careful.

The Jews recruited a Palestinian who was a relative of Ayasha's close friend Osama Hamad. He managed to deliver a mobile phone to Hamad's home, which was constantly tapped by Shabak.

On January 5, 1996, Ajash visited Hamad. When, as usual, he called home with the information that he had reached his friend safely, Szabak officers identified his voice. It was enough. As Artur Górski writes:

If someone thinks that the "bug" on the phone was supposed to help locate the Engineer, they are seriously wrong. Counterintelligence employees were not interested in where their target was located on earth - it was important that he had the phone to his ear. There was also hidden (...) an explosive charge in it. It was supposed to be a symbolic execution:the genius bomb designer dies as a result of the explosion. After a few seconds from confirming that the voice in the receiver really belongs to Ajasza, the Engineer was beheaded (...).

The article was based, inter alia, on for the book by Artur Górski, “Fist of David. The secret services of Israel ”(Znak Literanova 2015).

Mission in Amman

On July 31, 1997, two Hamas members blew up at a bazaar in Jerusalem. 15 people were killed and 150 were injured. In September, in Amman, Jordan's capital, two security officers from the Israeli embassy were injured as a result of an attack by the same group.

Israel's then prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, demanded the head of Khalid Meshal, one of the Hamas leaders, who was then in Amman. The action was carried out despite the protests of the Mossad director Dani Jatom, who believed that such an operation in a friendly country was inadvisable.

Eight Kidons using false passports then traveled to Amman. They came from Athens, Rome and Paris. On September 25, 1997, two assassins sprayed Meshal with an aerosol that paralyzes the nervous system. The victim lost consciousness, and the attackers ran away. The Jordanians who witnessed the incident set off in pursuit. Both enforcers were eventually stopped by the police. The rest of the agents securing the operation couldn't help them anymore.

What are you…, are you playing games ?!

The repentant head of the local Mossad outpost then called the head of Jordan's intelligence and told the whole truth. He also stated that the prime minister would clarify the matter in a telephone conversation with King Hussein. During a stormy conversation, the monarch was said to have said to Netanyahu:

What the f ** k are you playing at ?! I feel like my best friend raped my daughter! Is there an antidote to that goddamn spray ?!

Khalid Mesheal lives to this day; he is currently the leader of Hamas (Photo:Trango, CC BY 3.0).

The action ended in a complete flop. A special plane brought an antidote to gas from Jerusalem and Mesheal recovered. Israel also had to release Sheikh Ahmed Jassin and a large group of Palestinians from prison. In return, both would-be killers were released.

Failure turned into success

The Mossad had learned from this unfortunate mission, and subsequent operations were planned more carefully. On March 22, 2004, Sheikh Ahmed Jassin, the spiritual leader of Hamas, was killed in an Israeli helicopter attack. Bullets hit him as he left a mosque in the Gaza Strip after morning prayers. This time the enforcers were operating from a safe distance.

In the 1990s, King Hussein of Jordan of the Hashemite dynasty maintained good relations with Israel. He was furious when he found out about the attack on Khalid Meshal (photo:Helene C. Stikkel, U.S. Department of Defense, public domain).

A month later, the same fate befell Jassin's successor. Abdel Aziz al-Rantisi was killed on April 17 when his car was also shelled by rockets by an Israeli helicopter. The Hamas leader was fatally wounded and died after being hospitalized. His son and bodyguard died with him.

Warsaw trace

It is possible that "Kidon" took part in the Warsaw attack on Abu Daud. He was one of the leaders of the radical Palestinian terrorist organization Black September and a member of the Palestinian Liberation Organization. It was he who devised the plan to assassinate Israeli athletes during the Olympics in Munich.

What were terrorists like Abu Daud doing on the Vistula? They traded in arms with the Polish authorities (photo:Wistula, CC BY 3.0).

The attack took place in the Victoria Hotel in Warsaw on August 1, 1981. The bullets reached Abu Daud in the Opera cafe, on the first floor of the building. The bomber fired as many as six shots, but the Palestinian survived despite severe wounds.

Thanks to the testimonies of witnesses, a memory portrait of the attacker was made. His weapon was also found. On August 6, two people using Iraqi papers were arrested at the border crossing in Cieszyn.

One of them perfectly matched the description he was looking for, he was also recognized by Abu Daud. For reasons unknown to this day, the detainee was not charged with any charges and was soon released.

The article was based, inter alia, on for the book by Artur Górski, “Fist of David. The secret services of Israel ”(Znak Literanova 2015).

Volunteer needed immediately

The successes of the Israeli services, including the enforcers, would not be possible without a multitude of people working for their benefit. Slayers can use their support virtually anywhere in the world. They have numerous "sajanim" or helpers at their disposal. They are citizens of various countries of Jewish origin who undertake to be faithful not only to their present homeland, but also to Israel.

Jewish intelligence agencies are said to have such people even in the Vatican. They support regular secret service officers mainly as informants, sometimes they provide a car, apartment, etc. They do it free of charge, they only get reimbursement. And these people largely make up the Mossad's strength.