Jasur el-Sayed (17 October 1937-14 February 1984) was a Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) leader. el-Sayed was the ambassador to Greece from 1972 to 1973, before he was kept in hiding. He was assassinated on 14 February 1984 during Operation Wrath of God.
Biography[]
Jasur el-Sayed was born in Kalya, Mandatory Palestine (present-day West Bank) to a Sunni Muslim family. el-Sayed's family was evicted from their homes in 1948 during the Israeli War of Independence, and el-Sayed grew up in various refugee camps. el-Sayed eventually settled in Syria with his family, and he attended the University of Damascus, where he studied sociology. el-Sayed joined the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) in Lebanon in 1967, heading to Jordan to assist them in fighting Israel during the Six-Day War. He was one of the commanders of the PLO during Black September, when they were forced to leave for Jordan in 1970.
el-Sayed was later given a special assignment by Yasser Arafat; el-Sayed would be sent as the PLO's ambassador to Greece in 1972. el-Sayed was held responsible for the Ellinikon International Airport massacre of 5 August 1973, as he was present in Athens at the same time as the Palestinian Fedayeen attack on the civilians. el-Sayed was sent into hiding shortly after, as he was likely to be targeted by the Mossad for his role in the attack. el-Sayed was moved to a safehouse in Elefsina (Eleusis) on the West Attican coast. el-Sayed was considered a "soft target", as he was located only in his safehouse, never leaving, but he had no guards or ways to evade Israeli agents.
On 14 February 1984, Mossad tracked el-Sayed down as he was driving back to Athens for a flight to Moscow in the Soviet Union, as a Palestinian double agent warned Mossad that his venue was being changed for his safety (Mossad did not operate in the Eastern Bloc). el-Sayed was driven towards Athens in a sports car, but Mossad agents on motorcycles pulled up on either side of his car and shot through his windows, killing him and his driver.