"ALARM BLARES" "In the dead of night, three terrorists infiltrate the Israeli border." "This was a raid by Palestinians." "They armed themselves from a secret weapons cache the PLO had in Egypt." "Carrying AK-47s, they evade the Israeli border patrols." "They crossed Israel's southern Negev desert." "Their presence remains a secret until, when they reach a remote desert road,..." "SHOUTS IN ARABIC" "GUNFIRE" "..they hijack a passing car." "Israeli intelligence receive reports about the car hijacking." "They now know armed gunmen are on the loose inside Israel." "But they have no idea what their target is." "This triggered an enormous security alert in southern Israel." "Roadblocks were put up." "An hour later, the gunmen's car is sighted approaching a high-security area." "It was not far from Dimona, which is the site of Israel's nuclear reactor." "It becomes clear that the terrorists are planning to attack the Dimona reactor, Israel's most important military facility." "It's the one where Israel has nuclear weapons but has never admitted that they have nuclear weapons." "With the top-secret facility at risk, army units race to intercept the terrorists before they can reach their target." "Realising that Israeli forces are closing down on them, the Palestinians suddenly change their plans." "GUNSHOTS" "SHOUTING IN ARABIC" "The group kidnapped a bus that was bringing workers from the Dimona nuclear reactor back home." "Some of the passengers managed to escape." "But 11 are trapped." "Ten are women." "Israeli security forces surround the bus and try to negotiate with the terrorists." "But the gunmen are not interested in negotiating." "Then they turn their weapons on the hostages." "Now the security forces have to go in." "From here, if you're not going to respond, more people will die." "First, they get into position." "Then they strike." "In a matter of seconds, Israeli soldiers take over the bus, killing all three of the terrorists." "But quick as they are, they are not fast enough." "Three of the workers at the Dimona plant were killed." "Two of the victims are young mothers." "It becomes known as "The Mothers' Bus" attack." "Even in a nation used to terrorism, this is still a shocking act." "The Dimona bus attack was different from what was going on." "This one was such a horrific attack that targeted not only innocent people but mothers and women." "That's really what hits the most raw nerve in Israel." "CHANTING" "But even as the mourners gather, Israeli intelligence agencies have already identified the man behind the attack." "The man they are after is Abu Jihad." "In Arabic, Abu Jihad means "father of the struggle"." "The Israelis know that this is a title used by a leading Palestinian commander." "Abu Jihad is a nom de guerre, like a lot of Palestinian names." "His real name is Khalil al-Wazir." "Abu Jihad is the legendary militant commander of the PLO." "In the Palestinian organisation, of course, he was admired as one of their top leaders." "He is the number-two man in the Palestinian Liberation Organisation." "And heads its military wing." "Abu Jihad was in charge of operations of El Fatah." "Under Abu Jihad's command," "El Fatah have undertaken dozens of attacks on Israel." "He had organised and planned some significant Palestinian actions." "Innocent people had been killed often in brutal circumstances." "As far as Israel was concerned, he was an arch-terrorist." "Abu Jihad was a very dangerous man." "Abu Jihad is such a threat to Israel that for 20 years they have been trying to take him out." "The hunt for Abu Jihad was conducted throughout the years." "There were numerous attempts on his life, all of them failed." "Israeli military intelligence first tried to kill" "Abu Jihad in Damascus with a car bomb." "They missed." "A decade later, the Israeli Air Force tried to kill him in an air strike on Beirut." "But, again, he walked away." "The Mothers' Bus attack is proof that the master terrorist has reared his head once more." "But the threat he poses may be worse than just terrorism." "The Israelis believe that Abu Jihad is also behind the biggest challenge to their authority that they have ever faced." "GUNSHOTS" "For three months, the Palestinian population of Israel has been in revolt." "There was this uprising against their rule." "There were large crowds of people, often young people throwing stones at Israeli forces." "Its military was in the West Bank dealing with a wide array of protests." "It has become known as the Intifada, the Uprising." "And Israel believes that the hand that controls it is Abu Jihad's." "He claimed responsibility for the outbreak of the Palestinian Intifada." "He said, "I was the one ordering the troops," ""ordering the demonstrators to go to the street."" "Israel cannot allow the insurrection to continue." "The Intifada caused an enormous international damage to Israeli prestige worldwide." "They felt they have to get back at Abu Jihad." "They felt that he couldn't be allowed to get away with that." "And the man who decides to deal with Abu Jihad is Yitzhak Rabin," "Israel's minister of defence." "Yitzhak Rabin was basically leading the Israeli intelligence and security forces." "Rabin was quite a hardliner." "He was a military man through and through." "Israel had to be strong and it had to defend itself." "He also believed very strongly in targeting those terrorists that were attacking Israelis." "Rabin decides that Israel must kill Abu Jihad." "1,500 miles from Israel." "The city has become the new headquarters for the Palestinian Liberation Organisation." "That was the place where the PLO headquarters was, far away from Israel on the coast of Africa." "Abu Jihad and other key Palestinian leaders have homes in a quiet suburb of the Tunisian capital." "He lived with his family in a villa in a beach-side neighbourhood of Tunis." "Being so far away from Israel," "Abu Jihad felt quite confident and safe." "He didn't think that Israeli intelligence would be able to get so far, so remotely from Israel." "But he is wrong." "Abu Jihad is already under the watchful eye of Israel's intelligence service, Mossad." "These people are followed, they are tracked." "They knew where he was." "Israel's intelligence agency carried out surveillance of the area of Tunis where Abu Jihad was living along with other PLO leaders." "Four days after the Mothers' Bus attack," "Rabin orders Mossad to come up with a way to kill Abu Jihad." "But Rabin rejects them all." "None of these options guarantee that Abu Jihad will be killed." "With the Intifada raging, they simply cannot afford to miss." "As far as Rabin is concerned, there is only one way to ensure success." "To kill him at point-blank range." "It was decided that Abu Jihad is going to be killed in his house." "But killing the PLO's military commander in his home, 1,500 miles from Israel, will be no easy task." "Far harder to target somebody in Tunis than in somewhere that is 20 minutes flying time or just across one of Israel's borders." "And so, at the end of the day, Mossad came to Yitzhak Rabin and said we are not able to do this alone." "Skilled assassins, as they are, getting a hit team inside Abu Jihad's house without being discovered is beyond even the Mossad." "So Rabin now calls upon a highly secretive special operations brigade famed for their ability to strike at Israel's enemies wherever they may try to hide." "Israeli leaders turn to a special unit of the Israeli military." "The immediate candidate to perform the assassination is the General Staff Reconnaissance Unit." "But in Israel, they are known by another name." "In English, they are known as The Unit." "But in Hebrew, they call them the Sayeret Matkal." "Sayeret Matkal in Israel is nothing short of legendary or mythical." "It's essentially the top unit in the army." "It's the sort of byword for an elite unit." "There are others but that's the sort of creme de la creme." "It's a unit modelled after the British SAS." "SEAL teams are similar to it, Delta Force is similar to it." "Like these other special forces units, the Sayeret Matkal are experts at killing people." "They're thought of as assassination specialists." "They're willing to sacrifice everything for their country." "Commandos train intensively in survival skills, marksmanship..." "GUNFIRE" "..and hand-to-hand combat." "Their job is to go on special operations that are considered beyond the scope of your regular troops." "Only the very best of the Israeli military are recruited into the Sayeret Matkal." "You are looking in an elite unit for person that in no time can concentrate and do the things fast." "You're looking for a person that will never give up on himself." "These men have the reputation for accomplishing things, getting things done." "Rabin believes there is no other unit better suited for the task of taking out Abu Jihad." "So he puts in a call to a man who had been one of the architects of the Entebbe mission." "He is Israel's most decorated soldier and a living legend,..." "..Ehud Barak." "Ehud Barak was head of Sayeret Matkal, one of the most famous commanders of Sayeret Matkal." "He was in a position then as being a chief of staff or head of military intelligence." "A very serious guy, a very smart guy, a very sharp guy." "A very decorated guy." "Rabin orders Barak to draw up a plan for the Sayeret Matkal to assassinate Abu Jihad." "It will be known as Operation Show of Force." "Now Barak demonstrates one of the hallmarks of the Sayeret Matkal, meticulous planning." "The key will be finding out as much as he can about conditions on the ground." "They, more than anybody, know the importance of intelligence and good intelligence." "Despite the distance, if everything was carefully looked at in advance, there was a reasonable chance that that they would get away with it." "First, Barak has Mossad send more agents to Tunisia." "Previously, Mossad had been simply keeping tabs on Abu Jihad." "Now they are tasked with gathering detailed information on his every movement." "The Mossad sent people into Tunisia posing as either tourists or business people, very routine again for the Mossad." "They were sent to Tunisia to check all various questions that came from Sayeret Matkal." "Posing as Lebanese Arabs, the new team liaise with the agents already embedded in Tunis." "The agents monitor Abu Jihad's journeys around the city." "Israeli intelligence was updated of the tiniest details of Abu Jihad's daily routine and daily schedule." "The agents listen in on telephone calls to his home." "The Mossad would use electronic means to intercept communications and listen in, so they were confident that they would know when Abu Jihad is at home." "Watching and listening to his every move, the Mossad team soon learn the vital information that Barak needs to launch his operation." "Who is in the house with Abu Jihad?" "How the house is built?" "Who is sleeping in each room?" "How many guns?" "How far is the police station?" "They knew the height of the perimeter walls, the types of windows, doors and locks, the distance between the rooms." "They soon know every aspect of the villa's defences." "They know exactly where he is and on what floor of the building, when he goes to sleep and when he comes and when he goes, where his bodyguards are going to be." "Armed with the intelligence from Mossad, back in Israel," "Barak begins to draw up plans for the operation." "And so Sayeret Matkal was starting to plan how to take out Abu Jihad." "The plan Barak develops is to send in a small team of commandos to assault the villa under cover of darkness." "But it will only work if it is carefully choreographed." "The preparation and planning is the most important thing in the mission for the special forces soldier or the special forces unit." "They construct their plan using the detailed Mossad intelligence." "And they built a small model, which is an exact copying of the house." "Barak marks out the guard posts and points of entry." "They get all their intelligence together and then they have to figure out" "Different strategies for the assault are debated in order to minimise the risk of failure." "The soldiers are smart and they have a lot of experience." "And if they have a good idea, then the idea is taken and the plan is changed." "Once this is agreed, the commandos mark out the exact footprint of the villa." "And practise the assault again and again." "That was something that Israeli intelligence and the Sayeret Matkal commandos frequently did." "They never wanted to leave anything to chance." "Like every other secret or special operation," "SHOUTING" "Or the exact performance of yourself and others and so on." "GUNFIRE" "But expect the unexpected." "Whilst the commandos are practising for the assault on the villa," "Barak turns his attentions to one outstanding issue, that means getting the commando unit the 1,500 miles to Tunisia, safely and secretly." "All arms of Israeli power would be involved here." "The Mossad, the military intelligence, the navy, the air Force." "Barak mobilises the entire Israeli military." "First, the navy will take the commandos from Israel to Tunisian waters in missile boats." "It was a huge armada of ships, airplanes, cargo ships carrying helicopters." "Above them, Barak orders the air force" "Sayeret Matkal is under the coverage of the air force in order to be evacuated if something really bad happens." "It is an almost unprecedented mission in its size and ambition." "This was a huge operation, thousands of soldiers and intelligence officers from the navy, Mossad, military intelligence." "Having arranged how to get the commandos to Tunisia," "Barak now focuses on a very particular problem." "The nearest landing beach is two and a half miles from the villa." "This presents him with two problems." "The first is how to get Sayeret Matkal to the house." "And the second was how to get them back safely and alive after the assassination." "without them being detected by either the Palestinians or the Tunisian police?" "Bear in mind, Tunisia is an Arab country and not a democratic state." "It's sort of a police state far away from Israel." "They have to get there quickly without drawing attention, so they need an insertion plan." "So Barak comes up with an ingenious method to get the commandos to and from the villa without being detected." "First, they will arrange a distraction to clear the area of police." "We were expecting local forces to intervene." "So you give a notice to the police, the local police, that something happens..." "..far away on the other side of the city." "So everyone is concentrated there and you have time to go." "Next, the Mossad agents on the ground will rent cars and drive them to the beachfront." "There they will collect the commandos and ferry them to a location near to the villa." "Those rented cars were placed on the beach in Tunis to make sure that no suspicions would be aroused." "The Mossad agents will park the cars near Abu Jihad's home but the commandos will have to walk the final few yards to the villa on foot." "This is when they will be most exposed." "To get them the last few hundred yards," "Barak turns to his own experiences." "15 years earlier, Barak was involved in one of the most remarkable missions in the history of the Sayeret Matkal." "The unit was sent into Beirut, the heart of enemy territory." "They were sent to kill the men behind the slaughter of 11 Israeli athletes at the Munich Olympics." "To infiltrate the city undetected," "Barak and the others employed a very unusual disguise." "Some of them are dressed as women in order not to distract attention, that just a group of men is walking in the street." "It's always easier to have men and women together." "Their disguises allowed the unit to disperse through the city undetected and launch multiple synchronised attacks." "GUNFIRE" "At the end of that operation, 15 known terrorists were dead." "Now Barak's team will play the same trick in Tunisia in order to get to Abu Jihad's villa undetected." "The Israelis felt that they could do that even in Tunisia, even 1,500 miles away, so that playbook was turned to once again." "This leaves Barak with one final decision, to choose the man to lead the mission." "He chooses Nahum Lev, the deputy chief of the Sayeret Matkal." "Nahum Lev, his deputy, one of the most brave and legendary figures, and different figures in the history of Sayeret Matkal, to lead the operation." "Having read all the available intelligence," "Lev declares that Abu Jihad is a dead man walking." "He said, you know, "I read the file on Abu Jihad."" ""I knew how many Jews, how many brother Israelis he killed."" ""I knew that his hands are covered with Jewish blood."" ""He deserved to die."" "Lev's task is to be the first man into the villa and to locate Abu Jihad." "Lev and his men now embark on the 1,500-mile journey to Tunisian waters." "The quarter-century chase for Abu Jihad is almost over." "At a military base south of Tel Aviv, a specially adapted passenger jet takes off bound for Tunisia." "The Israelis used an electronic warfare aircraft, a converted Boeing." "Barak will command the operation from the plane, which has been turned into a flying control centre." "A few hours later, the plane reaches Tunisian airspace." "Barak now orders the Mossad team to the beach." "The Mossad was waiting with the rented cars by the shore, waiting for the Sayeret Matkal people to come ashore." "With the Mossad agents in place, the order is given for the Sayeret Matkal to land." "They are taken ashore by members of Flotilla 13, Israel's Navy SEALs." "To minimise sound, commandos row the last few hundred metres to shore." "The Israelis landed in the dead of night." "They were picked up by the Mossad people." "Nobody was there when it came to Tunisian security." "Immediately, the commandos change into their tourist disguises." "They're all changing very quickly." "They change their clothes to civilian clothes." "Some of them are dressed as women." "The whole group, Mossad, Flotilla 13 and Sayeret Matkal are waiting at the beach for the final go-ahead." "As they wait for a green light,... ..the commandos learn from Barak that there's a problem." "Israeli intelligence have intercepted a phone call to Abu Jihad." "Someone from the PLO headquarters called Abu Jihad and said that they were warned by, apparently, a European intelligence service, that the Israelis are thinking of killing a PLO senior figure." "Barak's fear is that, if Abu Jihad suspects he might be the senior figure being targeted, he may flee Tunis immediately." "The Israelis were afraid that he is going to take this threat seriously." "Barak demands a report from the Mossad team watching the villa." "Is Abu Jihad at home or has he fled Tunis?" "The agents report that his Mercedes has been seen arriving at the villa but they cannot confirm that Abu Jihad was in the car." "They saw people going out of Abu Jihad's house and getting into the house but they didn't see their face." "While Barak waits to find out where Abu Jihad is, he orders the Mossad agents at the beach to take the Sayeret Matkal to their position near the villa." "Quite rapidly, they launched the force, the Sayeret Matkal force from the beach to Abu Jihad's house." "At about one o'clock in the morning, the three vehicles that contained the Israeli commandos went into this neighbourhood called Sidi Bou Said." "One vehicle containing eight Israeli commandos actually went to the front of the house." "But Barak still cannot order the commandos to launch their assault." "Even after forces left the beach and went on to the house, we still did not have the right assurance to go in." "They were waiting there for the final approval of the commanders of the operation that Abu Jihad is, indeed, at home." "These are the actual words from secret radio communications between the units as they wait for the order to proceed." "They use codenames and speak in English instead of Hebrew in case anyone is listening." "Israeli commandos were sitting with their Uzi submachine guns and pistols between their legs just waiting for the signal to proceed." "Without absolute certainty that the target is at home," "Barak cannot give the order to strike." "They assured the minister of defence that they will know for sure that Abu Jihad is in the house before launching the assault." "It is now that Barak shows the Sayeret Matkal's real quality." "He has a back-up plan." "Israel is famous for being adjustable." "We change views, we change our behaviour, we change actions according to time and persons involved." "That's elite unit." "in the Palestinian territories." "They raid a house in Gaza and arrest a distant relative of Abu Jihad, a lawyer." "Now in a secret underground basement in Tel Aviv, a call is made to Abu Jihad's villa using a specially diverted line." "Something that would look like a phone call from Italy to Abu Jihad's office in his home." "Making the call is an Israeli agent who pretends to be a Palestinian informing Abu Jihad of his relative's arrest." "SPEAKS ARABIC" "He was shouting and cursing," ""Abu Jihad, Abu Jihad, you must help."" ""They have arrested Abu Rahma again."" "SPEAKS ARABIC" ""These son of a bitches Zionists, they have arrested Abu Rahma and they are torturing him."" "SPEAKS ARABIC" "Then they hear the voice on the other end of the line." "The speaker says, "Who is this?" "Please calm down."" ""We'll make sure everything is OK." "We'll help Abu Rahma, don't worry."" "The agent has to keep the person on the phone talking." "Listening in are three Arabic experts who have been trained to recognise Abu Jihad's voice." ""SPEAKS ARABIC"" "Each one of them had to raise his right arm when he's 100% confident" ""SPEAKS ARABIC"" "As the three soldiers listen to the voice, first one and then another raise their right hands into the air." ""SPEAKS ARABIC"" "Finally, the third hand is raised." "It was approved and confirmed and corroborated that Abu Jihad is in the house." "Finally, Barak can give the order to strike." "Lev, the commander of the operation and another commando dressed as a woman begin the final approach to the villa." "Disguised as a romantic couple, they walk through the busy streets." "Hidden in plain sight, nobody would think twice looking at these guys." "Their task, to approach the villa undetected and take out the guard on the gate." "So they were a pair walking the street, carrying a chocolate box." "But the innocuous-looking chocolate box" "Lev carries actually conceals a gun." "They had a weapon hidden under a box of chocolates." "It won't be in a holster and it won't be slung around the neck." "Lev and his partner now approach the entrance to the villa, where the guard is sat in Abu Jihad's black Mercedes." "They got close to the driver of Abu Jihad that was still sitting in the car." "The woman distracts the guard by asking for directions." "They pulled out the map and they wanted to ask him some sort of tourist request." "As the guard looks over the map," "Lev acts." "GUNSHOTS" "Now the other commandos make their move." "The eight commandos swiftly assaulted the house." "They went to the backyard and came to the door." "It made some noise and Abu Jihad heard it in the upper floor." "GUNSHOTS" "Lev and his accomplice concentrate on the stairs that will lead to Abu Jihad." "The other team go to take out the remaining bodyguards." "GUNSHOTS" "With the bodyguards dealt with," "Lev and his partner close in on the main target." "One of the assassins of Sayeret Matkal was going up the stairs, a young officer of Sayeret Matkal who was chosen by Nahum Lev to be the first one to come in." "The commando hears someone at the top of the stairs." "Is it Abu Jihad or an innocent member of his family?" "The commando knows that he will have to identify the target in an instant." "The commando reacts instinctively." "GUNSHOTS" "And then other people from the unit came and shot Abu Jihad as well." "GUNFIRE 70 bullets hits Abu Jihad." "And his right hand, which had held the pistol, was nearly severed." "GUNFIRE" "But as they are firing, Abu Jihad's wife suddenly appears." "GUNFIRE" "She's screaming, "Khalas!" "Khalas!" "Stop it!" "Stop it!"" ""Don't you see that he's already dead?"" "But even with everyone's nerves on edge, discipline holds." "Even when the unexpected happened, the wife did not get hurt." "We will avoid shooting, even on the expense of getting hurt." "Instead, Lev orders her to face the wall." "And with Abu Jihad confirmed dead,... ..the commandos depart." "Once it was finished, they rushed into the cars back to the beach, back to the boats and home." "The entire operation has been accomplished in a matter of minutes." "At dawn, when the Tunisian investigators and a PLO team went out to see what happened, all they found were the three rented vehicles and footprints on the sand." "As the commandos journey back to Israel, they know that, even by their own high standards," "Operation Show of Force is an outstanding achievement." "Abu Jihad, who, as far as the Israelis were concerned, was the main planner of the Intifada they were out to stop, was dead." "But the mission hadn't been quite flawless." "Despite all the intelligence gathered there was something they had missed." "At the time of the raid," "Abu Jihad's gardener was sleeping in the basement of the villa." "GUNSHOTS" "This innocent man had been killed alongside Abu Jihad's bodyguards." "Soon news of the operation reaches Israel." "When the troops were on their way home, it was already published that someone killed Abu Jihad in his house." "Israel has never formally admitted to killing Abu Jihad but there was never really any doubt about it." "But there is a strange twist to this tale." "The news of Abu Jihad's death does not have the effect Rabin had hoped for." "It's all very well being clever at killing Palestinian leaders but the PLO didn't disappear, the Intifada didn't stop." "In fact, the violence gets worse." "News of Abu Jihad's death triggers the bloodiest day of protests since the Intifada began." "And, in a bizarre development, the Israeli learn that, despite his claims," "Abu Jihad had never had anything to do with the Intifada." "In fact, he was lying." "He didn't know that the Intifada is going to break up, he or the PLO." "They sort of jumped on the wagon after it started, claimed responsibility for something they had no involvement whatsoever." "And the reaction of Israelis wasn't what Rabin had expected either." "There was quite a lot of comment in Israel that while this was a brilliantly executed mission by our boys, at the end of the day, did it make much difference in the big picture?" "Not really." "But one difference it did make was to the career of the man in charge of the operation, Ehud Barak." "It's hard to overstate what a legendary career he's had." "In the years after the Tunisian mission," "Barak was made chief of the general staff." "And in 1999, the Israeli people showed their admiration for the Sayeret Matkal when they elected the former leader of the unit" "to become Israeli prime minister." "The Israeli public, though it doesn't know much about precisely what Sayeret Matkal has done, well, the Israeli public knows that it's a trustworthy group of men who get things done." "GUNSHOTS" "Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd"