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By Way of Deception

By Way of Deception

By Way of Deception

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BY WAY OF DECEPTION 187tion. But rather than kill him right away and perhaps jeopardizethe whole operation, Yusuf decided he'd use this knowledge tothrow the Israelis <strong>of</strong>f the track. While he knew they were awarethat they'd been targeted, they didn't know how, because Akbarhad had only limited knowledge <strong>of</strong> the operation."We will have to do something that will make the Israelis say, `Ah,that's what it was," Yusuf told his <strong>of</strong>ficials.Which is why, on December 28, 1972, less than three weeksbefore Meir's scheduled January 15 visit to Rome, BlackSeptember staged what at the time was seen as an inexplicableraid on the Israeli embassy in Bangkok, Thailand. It was clearly aloosely planned event. They picked the day that PrinceVajiralongkorn was being invested at Parliament House as heir tothe throne, and Israeli Ambassador Rehevam Amir, along withmost foreign diplomats, was attending the ceremony.Time magazine described the takeover <strong>of</strong> the embassy on Soi LangSuan (the lane behind the orchard): "In the hot tropical sun <strong>of</strong>high noon, two men in leather jackets climbed over the wallenclosing the compound, while two others, well-dressed in darksuits, strolled in through the front gate. Before the guard couldraise any alarm, he was staring down the muzzles <strong>of</strong> submachineguns. The Black September Arab terrorist group, perpetrators <strong>of</strong>the Munich massacre, had struck again."Indeed they had. But it was strictly a diversion. They took control<strong>of</strong> the embassy and hung the green-and-white Palestinian flag out<strong>of</strong> a window. They allowed the guard and all the Thai employees togo free, but kept six Israelis as hostages, including ShimonAvimor, the ambassador to Cambodia. Soon, 500 Thai police andtroops surrounded the building, and the terrorists threw out notesdemanding Israel release 36 Palestinian prisoners or they wouldblow up the embassy and everyone in it, themselves included,within 20 hours.Eventually, Thailand's deputy foreign minister, ChartichaiChoonhaven, and Air Marshal Dawee Chullasapya, along withEgypt's ambassador to Thailand, Moustafa el Essaway, wereallowed to enter the embassy to begin negotiations. Is-

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