Black September: Israel’s Covert Operations and the Fight Against Hamas
On October 16, in a decisive blow to Hamas, Israel removed one of its most notorious figures, Yahya Sinwar, a hardline leader who came to power after the death of former Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh in what was widely believed to be a covert Mossad operation. . Sinwar’s death, after leading years of brutal attacks on Israel, is a major victory for Israeli forces. However, this strike goes beyond the elimination of an individual – it has left Hamas on the brink of an existential crisis.
More than a year after the devastating attacks on Israeli civilians, Yahya Sinwar’s death marks a critical moment in Israel’s fight against Hamas. Sinwar, the militant leader who took the reins after the assassination of former Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh in an alleged Mossad operation, played a key role in orchestrating these massacres. His elimination sent a ripple through Hamas, putting the organization on the brink of collapse. However, this is not the first time Israel has sidelined a terrorist group. The organization’s demise provides a historical parallel, as it, too, was effectively destroyed after relentless raids by Israel’s Mossad.
Black September was born out of the violent repression of Palestinian fighters by the Jordanian army, who feared a coup attempt. Thousands of Palestinian fighters were killed, and those who survived were expelled, giving birth to this clandestine group. While operating under the Fatah umbrella, the
Black September: Israel’s Covert Operations and the Fight Against Hamas
On October 16, in a decisive blow to Hamas, Israel removed one of its most notorious figures, Yahya Sinwar, a hardline leader who came to power after the death of former Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh in what was widely believed to be a covert Mossad operation. . Sinwar’s death, after leading years of brutal attacks on Israel, is a major victory for Israeli forces. However, this strike goes beyond the elimination of an individual – it has left Hamas on the brink of an existential crisis.
More than a year after the devastating attacks on Israeli civilians, Yahya Sinwar’s death marks a critical moment in Israel’s fight against Hamas. Sinwar, the militant leader who took the reins after the assassination of former Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh in an alleged Mossad operation, played a key role in orchestrating these massacres. His elimination sent a ripple through Hamas, putting the organization on the brink of collapse. However, this is not the first time Israel has sidelined a terrorist group. The organization’s demise provides a historical parallel, as it, too, was effectively destroyed after relentless raids by Israel’s Mossad.
Black September was born out of the violent repression of Palestinian fighters by the Jordanian army, who feared a coup attempt. Thousands of Palestinian fighters were killed, and those who survived were expelled, giving birth to this clandestine group. While operating under the umbrella of Fatah, the organization operated in a highly secretive manner, keeping its numbers small and its funds secret. As the US State Department observed, the group worked closely with Fatah, but Fatah later distanced itself from armed conflict, embracing negotiations as the primary way to deal with Israel.
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In its early years, it aimed to strengthen Fatah’s military and political influence. Unlike Hamas, which conducts highly visible, large-scale attacks, Black September’s operations were often more covert, using a sophisticated cell structure. American journalist John K. Cooley, an expert on Islamist terrorism, noted that members of the group operated in small, isolated units, each unaware of the others’ activities. This compartmentalized structure allowed the organization to maintain secrecy and avoid detection even in the face of Israeli counterterrorism efforts.
Covert operations and Israel’s nightmare
One of their most infamous acts was the Munich Massacre during the 1972 Olympics, but its campaign of terror extended beyond that. In the same year, the group sent dozens of letter bombs to Israeli diplomatic posts, killing Ami Sachori, an Israeli agricultural adviser in Britain. These covert operations, along with the group’s deep ties to Palestinian nationalism and its virulent anti-Zionist stance, posed a constant threat to Israel, leaving the country on high alert in the early 1970s.
Israel’s eventual success in dismantling Black September provides a stark reminder of its ability to neutralize even the most elusive terrorist groups.
In the wake of the Munich massacre, Israel’s Mossad launched a long-term covert operation aimed at dismantling Black September, systematically targeting its key members. This relentless campaign eventually led to an existential crisis for the organization. While ideological differences with Fatah certainly played a role in questioning the legitimacy of Black September, this Mossad operation severely hampered its operational capabilities.
On the ideological front, Arab sentiment against Zionism remains relevant; However, it has gradually waned from the fervor found in the 1960s, 70s and early 2000s. The breakdown of Black September reveals three possible scenarios: first, the short-term stabilization of radical ideologies against Israel; second, the continued political relevance of anti-Zionist ideologies in strengthening Arab sentiment in the Middle East; Third, the limited success of armed struggle as a means of resistance.
Hardliners vs. Moderates: Changing Dynamics with Israel
After the collapse of armed resistance by Fatah in the late 1970s to late 1980s, the organization moved towards a more moderate approach, recognizing Israel and abandoning armed struggle after the Oslo Accords. In earlier years, under the leadership of Yasser Arafat, Fatah launched nearly 2,000 guerrilla attacks against Israel. However, the assassination of Arafat and other prominent Fatah figures such as Khalil al-Wazir in 1988 left the group weaker and weaker. Facing severe retaliation from Jordan and Lebanon, along with the relentless efforts of the Mossad, Fatah had no choice but to reform its strategy, leading to negotiations with Israel in the 1990s. However, Fatah suffered a major setback in the 2006 elections when Hamas won, leading to the loss of control over the Gaza Strip and the rise of Hamas. The collapse of Black September and Fatah’s strategic shift reveal the limited success of the armed struggle against Israel.
Ideas can’t be killed, but they can be paralyzed: a dead end for proxies?
There is some truth to the saying “you can’t kill an idea”, but it is equally valid to say that ideas can exist in a state of paralysis. There is an important difference between relevance and reality; While some ideologies may remain relevant, turning them into practical reality is a significant challenge. The cessation of Fatah’s armed struggle and the collapse of Black September serve as key historical events demonstrating that the radical notion of putting Israel in an existential crisis has largely failed, with only a few notable successes. Despite Iran’s efforts to perpetuate this ideology and use it to build proxy forces for armed struggle, the anti-Zionist narrative driven by various proxies appears to be weakening.
A year ago, the consensus was that the proxy war would intensify; However, the current reality suggests otherwise, the proxies have reached an end and there are two options: abandon the armed conflict or seek reconciliation with Israel. This state of paralysis among the resistance factions may be motivating Hamas to negotiate with Fatah for Palestinian unity, as evidenced by the recent meeting in Cairo.
However, a counterattack surfaced in 1995 with the unexpected rise of Tanjim, Fatah’s armed faction, which gained notoriety through suicide bombings and attacks against Israel during the Second Intifada. Still, like its predecessors, Tanzim’s operations were short-lived; After the assassination of its senior commander Abayat Hussein in November 2000 and the arrest of its leader Jamal Abu Leil, the group lost its strength.
The current paralysis of Hamas and Hezbollah suggests that history may indeed be repeating itself, potentially leading these long-term proxies to an existential crisis similar to those faced by Black September and Fatah in the past.