'We'll repeat Munich 1972': Amid death threats to athletes, Israel to send armed agents to Olympics

Amid mounting antisemitism in Europe and elsewhere, Israeli athletes taking part in the Paris Olympics in France have been receiving death threats.

The athletes part of the Israeli contingent have received death threats on phones and email. The calls and messages have said that once they arrive in Paris, the would be killed and Munich-like attacks would be repeated.

In the wake of the threats, the Israeli government is sending armed agents to guard Israelis taking part in the Olympics.

In the Munich Olympics of 1972 in West Germany, Palestinian terrorists had abducted and killed 11 Israeli athletes. A German police officer was also killed.

The terrorists who belonged to the group Black September, an offshoot of the Palestinian party Fatah that had not yet given up its terrorist ways to adopt mainstream politics. Today, Fatah is the mainstream Palestinian party that runs the internationally-recognised Palestinian Authority (PA), the de-facto Palestinian government that partially runs the West Bank with its seat at Ramallah.

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‘You’ll await attack at every moment’

Initially, messages were sent to 15 athletes from a sender who said they belonged to ‘People’s Defense Organization’. An organisation of the name is not known to exist in the context of Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

The message said that ‘The People’s Defense Organization’ intends to harm any Israeli presence at the Olympics, as per The Times of Israel.

The message further said that the organisation intends to “repeat the events of Munich 1972” and that attacks will await Israelis every moment in Paris.

“Therefore, you’re not invited to Paris 2024. If you come, take into account that we intend to repeat the events of Munich 1972…You will be awaiting attack at every moment — in the airport, the hotel, and the streets which belong only to us. Even a wave of arrests against our organization won’t stop us from seeing our plan through. Prepare for the intifada!” said the message further.

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In addition to the message, some athletes, including Israeli open ceremony flagbearer Peter Paltchik and swimmer Meiron Amir Cheruti received invitations to their own funerals, according to the newspaper.

Security officials said the threats were being taken seriously. As for these messages, security officials told the Israeli outlet Ynet that the messages were generated by a bot.

Israel to send special forces to guard Olympians

The Israeli government is sending armed Shin Bet agents to France to guard the nation’s athletes in the Olympics, according to Israeli minister Miki Zohar.

The Shin Bet is the domestic intelligence agency of Israel. Along with the foreign intelligence agency Mossad and military intelligence agency Aman, the Shin Bet is part of the Israeli intelligence community.

Zohar told The Daily Telegraph the 88 athletes and staff part of the Israeli delegation will receive Shin Bet’s protection. He added that the security arrangements had been in the making for more than a year.

Zohar further said, “We know there are threats (against the team) but we don’t want to talk about it…We try our best to make sure the athletes feel free but also safe and not afraid. We don’t want them to notice the security guards too much. We want them to feel confident so they can do their job.”