The Palestine Liberation Organization has asserted that eight of the 11 Israeli athletes killed at the 1972 Munich Olympics were slain by West German rather than Palestinian bullets.
The assertion echoes the claim of relatives of nine of the victims who charge the Germans destroyed files on the Munich massacre.
However, Bavaria’s Justice Ministry said last week it found copies of missing documents proving Palestinian kidnappers killed all the Israelis.
A Dutch correspondent in Tunisia who has close contacts with the PLO said the Palestinians claim they killed three of the Israelis, two at the apartment complex where they were taken hostage and the third at the Munich airfield.
Henk Ruyssenaers said in a radio report that the PLO claims the others were killed by German gunfire.
Bavaria’s Justice Ministry said the documents proved the victims were shot with bullets from Kalachnikov rifles used by the Palestinians.
It said accusations that Israeli athletes had been shot by German policemen are false and were an attempt to back up claims for financial compensation.
The charges “are apparently only part of a disinformation campaign aimed at supporting damages payment demands of over 4 0 million marks ($29 million) made by the relatives,” the statement said.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
