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By Way of Deception

By Way of Deception

By Way of Deception

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BY WAY OF DECEPTION 22the Mossad still hoped it could recruit him. Yet despite Halim'sunwitting help, several key questions remained unanswered.On June 7, 1980, Meshad made another <strong>of</strong> his frequent trips toParis, this time to announce some final decisions about the deal.During a visit to the Sarcelles plant, he told French scientists, "Weare making a change in the face <strong>of</strong> Arab world history," which isprecisely what Israel was worried about. The Israelis hadintercepted French telexes detailing Meshad's travel schedule andwhere he would stay (Room 9041 at the Meridien Hotel), making iteasier to bug his room before he got there.Meshad was born in Banham, Egypt, on January 11, 1932. Hewas a serious, brilliant scientist, and his thick black hair wasbeginning to recede noticeably. His passport listed his occupationas a lecturer in the department <strong>of</strong> atomic engineering, University<strong>of</strong> Alexandria.In interviews later with an Egyptian newspaper, his wife, Zamuba,said the couple and their three children (two girls and a boy) hadbeen about to leave for a Cairo vacation. In fact, she said Meshadhad already bought the plane tickets when he was phoned by an<strong>of</strong>ficial from the Sarcelles plant. She heard him say, "Why me? Ican send an expert." She said that from that moment on, he wasvery nervous and angry and that she believed there was an Israeliagent in the French government who had set a trap for him."There was danger, <strong>of</strong> course. He used to tell me he wouldcontinue the assignment <strong>of</strong> creating the bomb even if he had topay for it with his life."The <strong>of</strong>ficial news story, released to the media by the Frenchauthorities, is that Meshad was accosted by a hooker in theelevator as he was returning to his ninth-floor room at about 7p.m. on a stormy June 13, 1980. The Mossad already knewMeshad was heavily into kinky sex, S&M actually, and a hookerwhose nickname was Marie Express had been entertaining himregularly. She was slated to show up at about 7:30 p.m. Her realname was Marie-Claude Magal, whom Ran had initially sent toHalim. Although she did considerable

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