The Israel-Palestine conflict has a long history of violence and controversial tactics. One of these was the ‘Hannibal Directive’, which allows soldiers to use excessive force to prevent capture, even if it puts the lives of hostages at risk. Another example of Israel’s unconventional methods is the 1978 assassination of Palestinian commander Wadie Haddad, who was killed by Mossad agents using poisoned toothpaste.
background
Wadie Haddad, head of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, was involved in several high-profile attacks, including the hijacking of an Air France plane in 1976, known as the Entebbe hijacking. The hijackers took the plane from Tel Aviv to Paris, but diverted it to Libya and then Uganda.
Israel responded with Operation Thunderbolt, a rescue mission led by Lt. Col. Yonatan Netanyahu, brother of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The mission was successful, but Lt. Col. Netanyahu died in the process.
Wadi Haddad’s name on Mossad’s ‘kill list’
Mossad, the Israeli intelligence agency, wanted to take revenge for the Entebbe hijacking. Wadie Haddad, the mastermind behind the hijacking, was their main target. After gaining international recognition, Wadie Haddad became a priority on Mossad’s assassination list.
‘Agent Sadness’
To avoid confusion, Mossad chose a quiet approach. They assigned the mission to an agent named ‘Agent Sadness’ who had access to Haddad’s home and office.
implement
On January 10, 1978, Agent Sadness replaced Hadad’s regular toothpaste with a specially formulated poisonous version. The toxin, developed at the Israel Institute for Biological Research, penetrated Hadad’s mucous membranes and slowly built up to a lethal dose.
Wadi Haddad’s illness
By mid-January, Wadie Haddad fell seriously ill in Baghdad. His symptoms were severe, including stomach cramps, loss of appetite and a rapid weight loss of more than 25 pounds. Despite treatment by Iraq’s top doctors, his condition continued to deteriorate and he was diagnosed with hepatitis, then a severe cold. Powerful antibiotics had no effect. His hair began to fall out, raising suspicions of poisoning.
Palestine Liberation Organization leader Yasser Arafat sought help from the East German intelligence service, the Stasi.
The Stasi took Wadie Haddad to East Berlin and admitted him to a secret hospital under the name ‘Ahmed Doukaly’. The doctors conducted a thorough examination of him, but they could not determine the cause of his illness. They suspected it was caused by either rat poison or thallium poisoning, but no conclusive evidence was found.
Death of Wadi Haddad
Wadie Haddad’s condition continued to deteriorate, he was bleeding profusely and his platelet count was also decreasing. Doctors put him under anesthesia and kept him in the hospital for ten days, but they could not save him.
He died on 29 March 1978.
Autopsy report
The autopsy conducted by Professor Otto Prokop concluded that Wadie Haddad had died from pneumonia caused by a brain hemorrhage and panmyelopathy. However, the exact cause of the poisoning remained unclear for many years.
It took nearly three decades for the truth about Haddad’s murder to come to light. Aaron J. Klein’s “Striking Back” attributes Wedy Haddad’s death to poisoned chocolate, while Ronan Bergman’s “Rise and Kill First” details a murder with toothpaste.
The Israeli army’s motto, inspired by the Babylonian Talmud, is “If someone comes to kill you, get up and kill them first”.
This guiding principle has inspired their actions, including the recent targeting of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran, Iran. Since the October 7 attack, Israel’s assault on Gaza has killed nearly 39,400 people and injured nearly 100,000 others.
