Avraham Shalom, who led Israel's Shin Bet security agency from 1980 to 1986, died in Tel Aviv on Thursday at the age of 86. Shalom was born in Vienna, Austria in 1928. At the age of 11, he moved with his family to Tel Aviv. In 1946, Shalom joined the Palmach and later fought in the War of Independence. In 1950, Shalom was recruited to the Shin Bet. A decade later, Shalom served as deputy commander of the Israeli team that captured wanted former Nazi leader Adolf Eichmann in Argentina. In 1972, Shalom was appointed commander of the Shin Bet's Security Division following the Munich Olympics massacre. Shalom was named Shin Bet director in 1980. Under his leadership, the Shin Bet cracked down on right-wing Israeli extremists and foiled a plot to blow up Al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem. In 1986, Shalom resigned in the wake of the Bus 300 affair. The affair began on April 12, 1984, when four Palestinian terrorists hijacked a bus traveling from Tel Aviv to Ashkelon and took it to the Gaza Strip, where a standoff ensued with Israeli security forces. Israeli troops eventually stormed the bus and two of the terrorists were killed, while the other two were captured. The two detained terrorists were taken by Shin Bet agents to a nearby location and killed. A scandal broke out after pictures were published in the media showing the two terrorists being led away, still alive, from the bus. Shalom was ultimately forced to resign. In a letter to then-President Chaim Herzog, Shalom said "all my actions in the matter of Bus 300 were carried out by authority and with permission." Shalom was later pardoned by Herzog. Later in life, Shalom became a strong advocate for reaching peace with the Palestinians. He was among six former Shin Bet directors who gave rare, candid interviews about their actions and decisions in the 2012 Oscar-nominated documentary "The Gatekeepers" by Israeli filmmaker Dror Moreh. In a Channel 10 interview, Science and Technology Minister Yaakov Peri, who immediately followed Shalom as director of the Shin Bet, praised him as the father of Israel's security system. "It has always been said about [Avraham] that when you look at a soccer stadium of 100,000 spectators and there is one suspect, [Avraham] could point out the suspect," Peri said. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday, "From a young age, Avraham Shalom worked for the security of the State of Israel in a series of operations -- in the Palmach Harel Brigade during the War of Independence, in the Mossad and the Shin Bet. I offer my condolences to his family." Shalom was preceded in death by his wife, and is survived by one son and one daughter, who live in Israel. Shalom's funeral will take place on Sunday.
Ex-Shin Bet chief Avraham Shalom dies at 86
Shalom, who headed the Shin Bet from 1980 to 1986, to be laid to rest on Sunday • Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu: From a young age, Shalom worked for the security of the State of Israel.
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