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ABSTRACT
The September 1972 Munich Olympics massacre brought to light the critical need for internal coordination and international cooperation among intelligence, security and enforcement agencies, government ministries, and many others who deal with counterterrorism. Through an historical overview of the role of the counter-terrorism bureau and with interviews of its former directors, this article presents the security lessons learned from the attack while providing an overview of the counterterrorism coordinator’s critical role in coordinating organisations focused counterterrorism operations, policy, and law.
Disclosure statement
The article was first published by the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI), in their Counterterrorism Yearbook 2021.
Notes
1. Yariv, “A Strategy to Counter Palestinian Terrorism,” 1; and Merari, On Terrorism and Combating Terrorism, 6.
2. Author interview with Meir Dagan, 4 December 1998.
3. Author interview with Prime Minister Netanyahu, 20 December 1999.
4. Interview with Meir Dagan.
5. Lapid, Israel’s Silent Defender, 268.
6. Author interview with Rafi Eitan, 31 October 1999.
7. Author interview with Yigal Pressler, 31 October 1999.
8. See note 4 above.
9. Ganor, The Counter Terrorism Puzzle, 60.
10. Interview with Dagan.
11. Ibid.; Ganor, The Counter-Terrorism Puzzle, 61.
12. Interview with Dagan; Ganor, The Counter-Terrorism Puzzle, 60.
13. Author interview with Shlomo Gazit, 7 November 1999.
14. See note 10 above.
15. At its inception, CTB operated under the auspice of the ISA and reported to the head of the service (then headed by Ami Ayalon). When Meir Dagan was appointed as the counterterrorism chief of staff, the unit moved to the prime minister’s office and reported directly to the prime minister.
16. Israel State Comptroller, “Report on the National Security Council”.
17. Ibid., “Annual Report No. 57B”.
18. Ibid., “Report on the National Security Council”.
19. Hasson, “Information on the Office of the Prime Minister’s Activity in 2000”.
20. Oren, “The Brussels and Istanbul Attacks Have Proved: The Lottery is Unnecessary”.
21. See note 19 above.
22. Israel’s State Comptroller, “Annual Report No. 54B”.
23. ‘The retirement of the armored buses’, Eged Website, 2 January 2018.
24. Harel, “The Counter-Terrorism Headquarters is Planning Protection for Buses”.
25. Knesset, “Minutes No. 294”.
26. Ibid., “Minutes No. 86”.
27. Israel State Comptroller, “Report on Prevention of Events Involving Hazardous Materials”.
28. Government of Israel, “Resolution No. 633”.
29. Ibid., “Resolution No. 1198”.
30. Ibid., “Resolution No. 2379”.
31. Ibid., “Annual Report No. 57B”.
32. Ibid., “Report on Prevention of Events Involving Hazardous Materials”.
33. Ibid., “Annual Report No. 53A”.
34. Ibid., “Resolution No. 498”.
35. Ibid., “Resolution No. 633”.
36. Israel State Comptroller, “Annual Report No. 57B: Report on Israel’s Security System”.
37. Government of Israel, “Resolution No. 2258”.
38. Interview with Pressler.
39. Israel Prime Minister Office, “Spokesperson Announcement,” February 6, 2013. https://www.gov.il/he/Departments/news/spokeburfam060213.
40. Israel State Comptroller, “Special Report on Israel’s Preparedness to Fend Off UAV Threat”.
41. Public tender for the prime minister’s office, 1 March 2020 (Hebrew), https://www.gov.il/he/Departments/publications/drushim/tender_86_2020.
42. Oren, ‘The Brussels and Istanbul Attacks”.
43. ‘Law for Regulating Security in Public Bodies (Amendment no. 10), 5719–2019’, Open Knesset, 4 June 2018 (Hebrew), https://oknesset.org/meetings/2/0/2070910.html.
44. Government of Israel, “Resolution No. 926”.
45. Ibid., “Resolution No. 4705”.
46. Information on the trial period for the inclusion of biometric identifiers within identification documents and databases, pursuant to the Inclusion of Biometric Identifiers within Identification Documents and Databases – 2009, 4 March 2017 (Hebrew), https://www.gov.il/he/departments/legalInfo/testperiod.
47. Government of Israel, “Resolution ‘No. 1925”.
48. Public tender for the Prime Minister’s Office, 1 March 2020 (Hebrew), https://www.gov.il/he/Departments/publications/drushim/tender_86_2020.
49. Israel National Security Council, “CT and HLS Division and Home Front”.An early version of this article was published at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI), Counterterrorism Policy Centre, Counterterrorism Yearbook 2021, ‘The importance of inter-office coordination in counterterrorism: the Israeli case study’, 113–118. https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/ad-aspi/2021-03/ASPI%20Counterterrorism%20YB2021-v2.pdf?VersionId=qRIjpA0b0aLaWsvXREMAf8yo8I.uyWxN
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Boaz Ganor
Boaz Ganor holds the Ronald S. Lauder Chair for Counterterrorism at Reichman University, Israel. He is the Founder and Executive Director of the International Institute for Counterterrorism (ICT) and former dean of the Lauder School of Government, Diplomacy, and Strategy at Reichman University.