Germany, Israel mark 50th anniversary of 1972 Olympic attack

BERLIN – The German and Israeli presidents are to affix kinfolk of the 11 Israeli athletes killed within the assault by Palestinian militants on the 1972 Munich Olympics to mark the fiftieth anniversary on Monday, days after an settlement that ended a protracted dispute over compensation.

Monday’s ceremony takes place on the Fuerstenfeldbruck airfield exterior Munich, the scene of a botched rescue try by which 9 of the Israeli athletes, a West German police officer and 5 of the assailants had been killed.

Final week’s settlement headed off a threatened boycott of the anniversary occasion by kinfolk of the slain athletes. They may obtain a complete of 28 million euros ({dollars}) in compensation, a major improve from the preliminary 10 million-euro supply.

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As a part of the settlement, Germany has agreed to acknowledge failures by authorities on the time and to permit German and Israeli historians to assessment the occasions surrounding the assault. Family members have accused Germany of failing to safe the Olympic Village, refusing Israeli assist after which botching the rescue operation.

The day-long drama began unfolding earlier than daybreak on Sept. 5, 1972, when eight members of a Palestinian group referred to as Black September clambered over the unguarded fence of the Olympic village. They burst into the constructing the place the Israeli workforce was staying, killing wrestling coach Moshe Weinberg and weightlifter Yossi Romano.

Some Israeli athletes managed to flee however 9 had been seized. The captors demanded the discharge of greater than 200 Palestinians held by Israel and two German left-wing extremists in West German prisons.

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The attackers demanded a aircraft and secure passage to Cairo. After a day of tense negotiations, the assailants and their hostages had been allowed to depart aboard two helicopters for Fuerstenfeldbruck.

Sharpshooters on the airfield opened hearth. The attackers threw a grenade into one of many helicopters carrying hostages, which exploded, and shot the hostages within the different helicopter.

The compensation settlement consists of funds already made. Instantly after the assault, Germany made funds to kinfolk of the victims amounting to about 4.19 million marks (about 2 million euros or {dollars}), based on the nation’s inside ministry. In 2002, the surviving kinfolk acquired an extra 3 million euros, Germany’s dpa information company reported.