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The 1972 German massacre during the Olympic Games in Munich was shocking for the entire world. Although terrorism was already a renowned international threat in the 1970s, security during this event was not strong enough to prevent the invasion of the Olympic village by the Palestinian extremists (Hirsch, 2020). According to Spindlove and Simonsen (2018), on “September 5, 1972, eight members of the Palestinian Black September terrorist group entered the village” and “managed to secure … nine Israeli hostages” (p. 160). They demanded to release more than 200 Palestinian inmates from Israel’s prisons in exchange for the athletes, who would be killed if their request was not fulfilled (Spindlove & Simonsen, 2018). The leaders of the two affected countries decided not to accept extremists’ terms. Thus, the German military group opened fire on terrorists and their hostages, which resulted in the death of all of them (Spindlove & Simonsen, 2018). This accident strengthened Germany’s anti-terrorist agencies, while Israel responded with the Operation Wrath of God.
Germany had to implement additional regulations that could control immigrating Arabs and their organizations within the country to prevent similar tragic accidents in the future. The main reason why terrorists were able to invade the village was that the Games had weak security that was unarmed (History, 2021). Moreover, theories suggest that Palestinian extremists received assistance from the administration of the Olympic Games, but this information was never confirmed (Reeve, 2018). Germany established a GSG-9 agency, which became an elite anti-terror unit (Spindlove & Simonsen, 2018). Its principal function is to defeat terrorism and rescue hostages in case of an extremists attack (Reeve, 2018). Furthermore, the government was involved in a series of official meetings with the Palestinian Liberation Organization and the leaders of the Arab world to prevent similar attacks through cooperation (Hirsch, 2020). This situation was humiliating not only for the German government but also for the entire civilized community; hence, this issue and the importance of counterterrorism were taken to the international arena.
Israel’s response can be considered brutal because it involved chasing and killing the responsible parties, naming the operation with the emotive but relatively pretentious title “Wrath of God.” Israel’s Prime Minister claimed they refused to negotiate with the terrorists because “no Israeli anywhere in the world can feel that his life is safe” (History, 2021). In fact, their primary aim was not only vengeance for the murdered athletes; they also wanted to spread fear among all Palestinians. Thus, Israel created a special committee that had to identify and kill everyone who was involved in the Munich massacre (Reeve, 2018). This operation continued for more than twenty years, with multiple wins and minor losses for Mossad (Reeve, 2018). Undoubtedly, this event was a horrendous incident for the Israeli people and the global community.
In summary, the tragic accident that happened at the 1972 Olympic Games in Germany showed the existing security problems in the country. Since Palestinian terrorists targeted Israeli athletes, who died during the rescue operation, the government of Israel responded with their readiness to destroy the involved individuals and groups. Germany also strengthened its counterterrorist actions by creating a special agency to fight extremism in the country. Overall, it appears that the Munich tragedy became the premise for the increased awareness about extremists internationally and coordinated counterterrorism work in the affected countries.
References
Hirsch, P. (2020). Politics as counterterrorism: The role of diplomacy in the West German response to Palestinian terror, 1970–1975.Behavioral Sciences of Terrorism and Political Aggression, 12(3), 186-202. Web.
History. (2021). Munich massacre.Web.
Reeve, S. (2018). One day in September: The full story of the 1972 Munich Olympics massacre and the Israeli revenge operation “Wrath of God.” Arcade Publishing.
Spindlove, J. R., & Simonsen, C. E. (2018). Terrorism today: The past, the players, the future (6th ed.). Pearson.
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