We killed the PLO’s deputy 25 years ago, admit Israelis

By ARON HELLER
Published on 02/11/2012 00:00

ISRAEL yesterday confirmed for the first time that its operatives had assassinated the deputy leader of the Palestinian Liberation Organisation 25 years ago after a seaborne raid on Tunisia.

Suspicion had long centred on Israel ordering the 1988 hit on Yasser Arafat’s right-hand man, Khalil al-Wazir, known by his nom de guerre, Abu Jihad.

But yesterday the daily newspaper Yediot Ahronot published confirmation after winning clearance by the military censor and permission to publish an interview with the commando who killed Mr Wazir, 12 years after its reporters first uncovered the story.

“I shot him with a long burst of fire,” the now-dead commando Nahum Lev said. “I was careful not to hurt his wife, who had showed up there. He died,” Mr Lev said prior to his death in a motorcycle accident in 2000.

“Abu Jihad [Mr Wazir] was involved in horrible acts against civilians. He was a dead man walking. I shot him without hesitation,” he added.

Dozens of similar operations have been attributed to Israel over the decades. But Israel rarely takes responsibility, and this public acknowledgement gives a rare glimpse into its covert ­operations.

Two of those involved now hold high political office – defence minister Ehud Barak and vice-premier Moshe Yaalon. At the time, Mr Barak was deputy military chief, and Mr Yaalon head of the elite Sayeret Matkal commando unit. Their precise roles were not divulged.

Mr Wazir founded the PLO with Mr Arafat and was blamed for a series of deadly attacks on Israelis, including a 1978 attack on an Israeli bus that killed 38 people. Later, he organised the first Palestinian uprising, or Intifada, against Israel, which began in December 1987. He was killed the following April.