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by Michael A. Hoffman II
October 5, 1997
First described by the Western media as a "paranoid fantasy of Hamas" the attempted Mossad assassination of Arab activist Khaled Meshal, in which Jewish agents carrying Canadian passports sprayed a poisonous gas into his ear, is already regarded as one of the most embarrassing incidents in the history of a service known for its homicidal efficiency, though Jewish newspapers such as the NY Times have omitted all news of the breaking story from their Oct. 4 and Oct. 5 editions.
The details of the Jewish assassination bureau's operation in Jordan were disclosed today by London's Sunday Times.
The saga began 12 days ago at a tempestuous meeting over lunch between Netanyahu and Danny Yatom, head of Mossad, at the prime minister's home. Netanyahu is said to have demanded the murder of an Arab leader.
According to the sources, Netanyahu said he wanted to "knock down" a Hamas leader in Amman. "But anyone," he is said to have added.
"Bibi [the prime minister's nickname] wanted a nice gift for Rosh Hashana [the Jewish New Year]. What he got was one of the most shameful and stupid Mossad operations ever," said one Israeli.
Netanyahu admitted yesterday that there had been an "operational failure" but said the attack had been essential.
It began smoothly. Eight members of the Misgarot operational unit flew into Amman without incident. Four carried Canadian passports, the rest European passports.
Two Jewish hit-men checked into the Intercontinental Hotel in central Amman, considered a strange choice by some as it is headquarters for the international press corps. The unit leader installed himself in the new Israeli embassy.
On September 25, the agents rented two cars and a high tech weapon from the Israeli armory for state terrorism was brought from the embassy an electric shock device containing a poison spray. At 10 a.m. Khaled Meshal was being driven through the city's Garden district, en route to his office on Wasfi Al-Tal Street. In the back of the car were three of his young children.
The Mossad agents appear to have been spotted almost immediately. "I told Mr Meshal that a green rented Hyundai car was following us," his driver recalled. "We arrived at the office about 10.30 a.m. The car had passed us by then and two European-looking people in their thirties had got out of the car and were waiting by the front door. They looked like tourists and an Arab tour guide appeared to be with them."
The agents moved quickly. "One of them asked for Mr Meshal," the driver said. "Almost simultaneously his friend, who had been holding a plastic bag, produced a black device with which he attacked Mr Meshal on the left side of his head. It looked as if he was spraying some kind of gas into his ear."
The Mossad men sped off. Meshal's bodyguard flagged down another car and chased the agents until they tried to transfer to another vehicle. The guard jumped on the Israelis, who, he said, "hit me so hard I almost fainted". He and some passers-by wrestled with them as the police arrived. Several Israelis in the second vehicle raced away.
Soon after their arrival at a police station, it became clear that the two supposed tourists carrying Canadian passports which identified them as Shawn Kendall, 28, and Barry Beads, 36, were not what they seemed. A representative of the Canadian embassy was told by the men that they would not be needing his assistance.
The head of Mossad in Jordan had the embarrassing task of calling Samih Batihi, a Jordanian official, to inform him that they were Israeli intelligence agents. "They are my people," he said. "Don't harm them. We will deal directly with the king."
Two hours after the assault, Meshal began to feel drowsy. He had felt what he described as "a ringing in my left ear" and shivers "like an electric shock running through my body". Nausea followed, then breathing difficulties, and he was taken to hospital on the point of suffocation. "He only lived because the doctors put him on an artificial breathing apparatus," said Dr Ahmed Rantisi, a Hamas leader in Gaza who spoke to Meshal on the telephone.
In Jordan, where the two captured Mossad agents are expected to appear in court this week, government officials said yesterday they expected the release of more Palestinian prisoners. A deal for the return of the agents may follow.
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