Abu Daoud, the Palestinian terrorist who is believed to have masterminded the massacre of Israeli athletes at the Munich Olympics in 1972, has been arrested here on a visit to attend the funeral of another Palestinian militant.
Daoud, a 40-year-old lawyer who became notorious as E1 Fatah commander during the “Black September” conflict with King Hussein’s forces in Jordan in 1970, gave himself up to counter-intelligence agents in a hotel room on Friday without resistance, police said today. The police reported that Daoud traveled to France with an Iraqi passport in the name of Youssif Radji in order to attend rites for Mouleh Saleh who was gunned down last Monday outside the Left Bank bookshop which he managed there.
Daoud was detained on the strength of an Interpol warrant issued on behalf of West Germany and Israel for the Munich massacre. The two applicants have 18 days in which to back up their demand for his extradition. A French court then must rule on whether to hand him over or let him go free.
Israeli officials here believe Daoud might have been planning a terror campaign against Israeli and Jewish representatives here as a reprisal for the death of Saleh which the Palestinians claim is the work of “Zionist agents.” The Israelis fear the French government might yield to pressure being brought by Iraq, Libya, Algeria and other Arab countries which are already demanding Daoud’s release.
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