Mossad’s Poisoned Toothpaste Assassination of Palestinian Commander Wadie Haddad Reveals Controversial Tactics in the Israel-Palestine Conflict.
Israel Employed Toothpaste to Assassinate Wadie Haddad, Leader of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine
The recent high-profile assassination of a leading Hamas figure has intensified fears of a regional conflict and jeopardized ongoing peace talks aimed at resolving the Gaza war. The killing of Ismail Haniyeh has heightened regional tensions, with Iran accusing the United States of complicity and vowing retaliation against Israel.
A UK-based newspaper reports that Israeli intelligence agency Mossad enlisted Iranian security agents to plant explosives in a Tehran guesthouse where Haniyeh was staying. This operation is part of a pattern of covert Israeli actions, which include attacks on nuclear facilities, cyber warfare, and the targeted poisoning of key figures.
The assassination of Haniyeh draws parallels to past events, such as the 1978 killing of Wadie Haddad, the leader of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP). Haddad was a prominent figure in the Israel-Palestine conflict, known for his role in the 1976 hijacking of an Air France plane during the Entebbe operation.
Mossad’s motivations for targeting Haddad were rooted in revenge for the Entebbe hijacking. To avoid a public spectacle, they chose a covert method. An operative known as ‘Agent Sadness’ was tasked with this mission. On January 10, 1978, the agent substituted Haddad’s toothpaste with a toxic version developed by the Israel Institute for Biological Research. The toxin gradually poisoned Haddad through his mucous membranes each time he brushed his teeth.
By mid-January, Haddad experienced severe illness in Baghdad, with symptoms including abdominal pain, loss of appetite, and significant weight loss. Despite treatment from leading Iraqi doctors, his health deteriorated, and he was misdiagnosed with hepatitis and a severe cold. Suspicion of poisoning led Yasser Arafat to seek assistance from the East German Secret Service, the Stasi.
Haddad was airlifted to East Berlin, where he was admitted under the alias ‘Ahmed Doukli’. Extensive tests could not identify the cause of his condition, though rat poison or thallium were suspected. His health continued to worsen, leading to severe hemorrhaging and a drop in platelet count.
Despite being sedated and hospitalized for ten days, Haddad died on March 29, 1978. An autopsy by Professor Otto Prokop attributed his death to brain bleeding and pneumonia caused by panmyelopathy. The exact nature of the poisoning remained unclear for decades, with the full truth about Haddad’s assassination emerging only after nearly thirty years.
