“The Bulldozer” and the Salty Fish
“Bulldozer” – the name given to Sharon in Israel – was “insanely” determined to assassinate Arafat, according to writer Ronen Bergman, believing that the operation “would change the course of the history of the Middle East.”
The late Palestinian President Yasser Arafat said in one of his meetings that Ariel Sharon admitted to masterminding 14 attempts to assassinate him until 1982, most of which took place in Beirut, unlike many other attempts that took place later.
Bergman mentions in his book, “Rise and Kill First,” that Defense Minister Sharon dismissed the commander of the Northern Region (Lebanon Front), Avigdor Ben-Gal, in December 1981. “He was the one who was planning to kill dozens of Palestinian leaders and wage a relentless war against the Palestinians in Lebanon.” In Sharon’s view, he was kind-hearted and lacked a radical vision,” he said.
The dismissal also came as part of Sharon’s implicit plan for a comprehensive invasion of Lebanon in order to eliminate the Palestine Liberation Organization, which happened on June 6, 1982. But Arafat was not an easy target, as he had acquired great skill in concealment, a strong security instinct, and flexibility in movement. This enabled him to avoid the fate of many leaders close to him.
Under Sharon’s orders, Eitan and Meir Dagan formed a special squad of soldiers from the “Siriyat Methkal” unit, led by Lieutenant Colonel Uzi Dayan. Its mission was to find Arafat in Beirut and assassinate him at any cost. The operation was called “Salty Fish” (the name given to Arafat). ), and the eavesdropping unit in Military Intelligence (AMAN) and an army of informants in Beirut also participated.
The Sayeret Matkal unit, with the help of Mossad agents on the ground, and by eavesdropping on Palestine Liberation Organization communications and intercepting and tracking the calls of some of Arafat’s companions, was able to obtain information about the places where he was supposed to be in besieged Beirut, and targeted him several times.
Numerous attempts to assassinate Al-Khotyar failed, some incredibly, according to Uzi Dayan: “Arafat managed to survive time after time.” Ronen Bergman mentions in his book that the “Seret Metcal” unit once picked up a call from Arafat himself, and two fighter jets were sent to bomb the 6-story building in West Beirut, the source of the call. After the building was leveled to the ground, it became clear that Arafat had left a few seconds earlier.
The “Sayeret Matkal” unit and the “Salty Fish” operation team were frustrated by the continued evasion of their “most valuable” target in Beirut. “Abu Ammar” realized that the repeated bombing of sites there was planned and systematic, so he took stricter security measures, and constantly changed his pattern of movement and locations. He also began scheduling several meetings at the same time and spreading information about them to his assistants on suspicion that one of them was an agent.
Ronen Bergman says that the desperation of the “Salty Fish” team after the failure of many operations and ideas to “hunt” Arafat led them to change their tactics, including the pursuit by a group of professional killers of 3 Israeli journalists who were going to interview Arafat in West Beirut (journalist Uri Avnery and reporter Sarit Yishai and the photographer called Anat Sargosti), but Arafat and his security team carried out an elaborate camouflage and deception plan that made the killers united. “Salty Fish” lose track of the three journalists in the alleys and mazes of Beirut.
