Ali Hassan Salameh

Ali Hassan Salameh
Ali Hassan Salameh
Nickname(s)	Red Prince
Born	1940 Qula, British Mandate for Palestine
Died	22 January 1979 Beirut, Lebanon
Allegiance	PLO Black September
Years of service	1958–1979
Rank	Chief of operations
Unit	Force 17
Battles/wars	Munich Massacre, Sabena Flight 571

Ali Hassan Salameh (Arabic: علي حسن سلامة‎‎, ʿAlī Ḥasan Salāmah) (1940 – 22 January 1979) was the chief of operations—code name Abu Hassan—for Black September, the organization responsible for the 1972 Munich massacre and other terror attacks. He was also the founder of Force 17. He was assassinated by Mossad in January 1979.

Salameh was born in the Palestinian town of Qula, near the city of Jaffa, to a wealthy family in 1940. He was the son of Shaykh Hassan Salameh, who was killed in action by the Israel Defense Forces during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, north of Jaffa. Ali Salameh was educated in Germany and is thought to have received his military training in Cairo and Moscow.

He was known for flaunting his wealth, being surrounded by women and driving sports cars, and having a very popular appeal among Palestinian young men; his nickname underlined his popularity—the "Red Prince." He served as the security chief of Fatah. After the Munich Massacre during the 1972 Olympic Games, he was hunted by the Israeli Mossad during Operation Wrath of God. In 1973, Mossad killed an innocent Moroccan waiter, Ahmed Bouchiki, in what became known as the Lillehammer affair in Norway, mistaking Bouchiki for Salameh, and resulting in the arrest of some of the Israeli agents.