The kidnapping and murder of the leader of the Moroccan opposition, Mehdi Ben Barka in the heart of Paris in November 1965 was a dramatic event that has occupied France and Morocco to this day. Over the years, innumerable articles, books, films and TV documentaries have delved into the affair, large parts of which remain an unexplained mystery.
Some of the investigations have implied that the Israeli Mossad was involved in the assassination. However, the truth has never been established as to whether it was in fact involved and if so- to what extent. Also- why it was worth the while for the Israeli espionage agency to take the risk of colluding in the murder of a political leader with whom Israel had no known disputes, coming from a country with which Israel had no known dealings.
My colleague, Shlomo Nakdimon, one of the most important and experienced investigative writers in Israel, and myself decided that the time had come to tell the actual story. With the help of the original files from the Mossad and the Prime Minister’s Office and interviews we have conducted over the last two decades with people connected to the affair, it can now, at last, be understood how the Mossad became part in this ugly business. A big contribution to our research was made by Dr. Yigal Bin-Nun, an Israeli historian who has for many years, and with boundless devotion, been researching the history of the secret relations between Israel and Morocco.
This is a gloomy story about death, blackmail, power struggle and the unbearable moral price that a country sometimes feels obliged to pay in order to keep itself safe.
Here is the link to an English translation of our article, published on YNET:
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4639608,00.html
Readers of French may be interested in this follow-up to our article on Le Monde from today:
http://www.lemonde.fr/international/article/2015/03/23/revelations-en-israel-sur-l-implication-du-mossad-dans-l-affaire-ben-barka_4599477_3210.html
Image Credits: David Polonsky