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JERUSALEM (AP) — Israeli secret service agent Mike Harari, who played a major role in planning Mossad's revenge attacks against Palestinian militants implicated in the 1972 Munich massacre of the country's Olympics team, has died. He was 87.
Harari was also involved in planning Israel's dramatic rescue of hostages held by militants in Entebbe, Uganda in 1976.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a statement Monday, calling Harari "one of the great warriors for Israel's security."
Harari, who died on Sunday, was best known for his part in planning Mossad's missions in the aftermath of the Munich attack. The militants first killed two Israeli athletes at the Olympic village in the German city, then took others hostage in an attempt to flee unharmed.
Nine of the hostages were subsequently killed in a gunbattle between German police and the militants.
The Munich revenge attacks were collectively known as "Operation Wrath of God." For nearly a year, Mossad agents targeted Palestinian militants throughout Europe, frequently shooting their victims from close range.
One was a Moroccan waiter gunned down in the Norwegian town of Lillehammer in a case of mistaken identity.
Norwegian prosecutors indicted Harari for that killing in 1998.
He was depicted by Israeli actor Moshe Ivgy in Steven Spielberg's 2005 film "Munich," a controversial account of the Operation Wrath of God affair.
Funeral arrangements for Harari were not immediately known.
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