BʾSEISSO, ATEF FAʾIQ (Abu Raouf; 1946–1992)

Palestinian militant, born in Gaza, Palestine. In 1971, Atef Bʾseisso joined the ranks of Black September, which was led by Salah Khalaf (Abu Iyad). In September 1973, he was arrested in Ostia, Italy, along with four other Palestinians, among whom was Amin al-Hindi (Abu Zuhayr), while they were preparing an attack against the Israeli airline El Al. A few days later, the group was set free. After going to Lebanon, B2seisso was named head of the civil arm of Fatah's security forces headed by Khalaf. In 1983, he was assigned to East Berlin as representative of the Palestinian Liberation Organization's security council, in charge of relations with East German special services. In August 1989, he was elected to al-Fatah's revolutionary council, where he collaborated closely with Khalaf in the organization's security council. In 1991, after the assassination of Khalaf and Hayel Abdul Hamid (Abu al-Houl), he became part of the leadership of Fatah's security council, along with al-Hindi. In his new duties, Bʾseisso had numerous contacts with leaders of Arab and Western special services. In October 1991, he went to Madrid to organize security for the Palestinian delegation at the Middle East peace conference. The following year, he was assassinated in front of his hotel, in Paris, France. According to some investigators, the Mossad (the Israeli intelligence agency) may have been behind the murder because of Bʾseisso's suspected participation in the massacre of Israeli athletes in the Munich Olympic Games of 1972. According to others, he was the victim of a settling of scores within the Palestinian leadership.

SEE ALSO Black September Organization;Fatah, al-;Hindi, Amin al-;Khalaf, Salah.