Jamal Al-Gashey is a Palestinian former militant and a surviving member of the Black September organization, best known for his participation in the 1972 Munich Massacre, in which eleven Israeli Olympic team members were taken hostage and ultimately killed during the Summer Olympics in Munich, West Germany.
Al-Gashey was one of eight Black September operatives who breached the Olympic Village on September 5, 1972, initiating the hostage crisis. During the subsequent standoff and the failed West German rescue attempt at Fürstenfeldbruck air base, five of the militants, all eleven Israeli hostages, and a West German police officer were killed. Al-Gashey was one of three surviving militants captured by West German authorities following the chaotic events.
However, Al-Gashey and his two fellow captured militants, Mohammed Safady and his cousin Adnan Al-Gashey, were released less than two months later, on October 29, 1972. Their release was orchestrated by Black September through the hijacking of Lufthansa Flight 649, with the demand for the freedom of the Munich perpetrators in exchange for the plane's passengers and crew. The West German government complied, and the three men were flown to Libya, where they were reportedly given a hero's welcome.
After his release, Jamal Al-Gashey went into hiding, reportedly settling in Damascus, Syria. He remained out of the public eye for decades until he granted a significant interview for the 1999 Academy Award-winning documentary film One Day in September, directed by Kevin Macdonald. In the film, Al-Gashey appeared with his face partially obscured, offering a rare first-hand account from one of the perpetrators of the Munich Massacre. During the interview, he expressed no remorse for his actions, maintaining that the attack was a legitimate act of resistance against Israel. His participation in the documentary was reportedly carried out at considerable personal risk, due to fears of retribution, particularly from Israeli intelligence services like the Mossad.
His current whereabouts and status are not publicly known.