Abdel Wael Zwaiter ( ar, وائل زعيتر; 2 January 1934 – 16 October 1972) was a

Palestinian Palestinians ( ar, الفلسطينيون, ; he, פָלַסְטִינִים, ) or Palestinian people ( ar, الشعب الفلسطيني, label=none, ), also referred to as Palestinian Arabs ( ar, الفلسطينيين العرب, label=non ...

translator, assassinated as the first target of Israel's

Operation Wrath of God Operation "Wrath of God" ( he, מבצע זעם האל ''Mivtza Za'am Ha'el''), also known as Operation "Bayonet", was a covert operation directed by Mossad to assassinate individuals involved in the 1972 Munich massacre in which 11 members of t ...

campaign following the 1972

Munich massacre The Munich massacre was a terrorist attack carried out during the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, West Germany, by eight members of the Palestinian militant organization Black September, who infiltrated the Olympic Village, killed two member ...

. Israel considered Zwaiter a terrorist for his role in the Black September group, while his supporters argue that he was "never conclusively linked" with Black September or the Munich massacre and was killed in retribution. Zwaiter was born in Nablus in 1934, the son of Adel Zu'aiter. He went to

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to the north, Iran to the east, the Persian Gulf and K ...

and studied Arabic literature and philosophy at the

University of Baghdad The University of Baghdad (UOB) ( ar, جامعة بغداد ''Jāmi'at Baghdād'') is the largest university in Iraq, tenth largest in the Arab world, and the largest university in the Arab world outside Egypt. Nomenclature Both University ...

. Zwaiter moved then to

Libya Libya (; ar, ليبيا, Lībiyā), officially the State of Libya ( ar, دولة ليبيا, Dawlat Lībiyā), is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Suda ...

and afterwards to

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

, where he was a PLO representative and worked as a translator for the Libyan

embassy A diplomatic mission or foreign mission is a group of people from a state or organization present in another state to represent the sending state or organization officially in the receiving or host state. In practice, the phrase usually den ...

. In addition to his native

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter ...

, Zwaiter spoke French,

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

, and

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

. During his time in

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

, Zwaiter was in the process of translating '' One Thousand and One Nights'' from Arabic into Italian, but according to Emily Jacir, he never completed this. Zwaiter was held for questioning by Italian police in August 1972 in relation to a bombing by the group Black September against an oil refinery, but was later released. The Israeli Mossad suspected him of being the head of Black September in Rome, and put him on an assassination list after Black September's attack in

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and Ha ...

. When he returned to his apartment building on the night of 16 October 1972, he was killed by two Israeli agents who shot him 11 times. At the time, Zwaiter was the PLO representative in Italy, and while Israel privately claimed he was a member of Black September and was involved in a failed plot against an

El Al El Al Israel Airlines Ltd. (, he, אל על נתיבי אויר לישראל בע״מ), trading as El Al (Hebrew: , "Upwards", "To the Skies" or "Skywards", stylized as ELAL; ar, إل-عال), is the flag carrier of Israel. Since its inaugura ...

airliner, members of the PLO have argued that he was in no way connected.

Abu Iyad use both this parameter and , birth_date to display the person's date of birth, date of death, and age at death) --> , death_place = Carthage, Tunisia , death_cause = Assassination , resting_place = , resting_place_coord ...

, deputy-chief of the PLO, has stated that Zwaiter was "energetically" against political violence.Nasr, Kameel B. ''Arab and Israeli Terrorism: The Causes and Effects of Political Violence, 1936–1993''. McFarland & Company, 1996. p. 68

Portrayal in film

*Wael Zwaiter is portrayed by actor

Makram Khoury Makram Jamil Khoury (Arabic:, مكرم يعقوب خوري}, he, מכרם חורי) is an Arab-Israeli actor, born 30 May 1945 in Jerusalem. He was the youngest artist and the first Arab to win the Israel Prize, the highest civic honor in Isra ...

in Steven Spielberg's ''

''.
"Material for a film": Retracing Wael Zuaiter (Part 1)
installation in the 2007 La Biennale di Venezia by

Emily Jacir Emily Jacir ( ar, املي جاسر) is a Palestinian artist and filmmaker. Biography Jacir was born in Bethlehem in 1973, Jacir spent her childhood in Saudi Arabia, attending high school in Italy. She attended the University of Dallas, Memp ...

*Emily Jacir
"Material for a film": A performance (Part 2)
16 July 2007, The Electronic Intifada **Najwan Darwis
Emily Jacir’s Material for a Film: Ongoing homage and artistic revenge for Wa’el Zuaiter

References

*Klein, Aaron J. ''Striking Back: The 1972 Munich Olympics Massacre and Israel's Deadly Response''. New York: Random House, Inc., 2005.

Portrayal in film

References

Further reading