leave the country, although it did not hand him over to the Turkish au-
thorities. Öcalan went to Russia first, and from there he moved to
various countries, including Italy and then Greece and Kenya.
In late November 1998 Turkish prime minister Bluent Ecevit
asked Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu if the Mossad
could help to capture Öcalan. For Israel, a close working relationship
with Turkey was considered an important strategic factor as part of
itsPeriphery Doctrine. Netanyahu agreed and instructed the direc-
tor of the Mossad, Efraim Halevy, to trace Öcalan for Turkey. The
plan to trace Öcalan was code-named Watchful.
Six Mossad agents were dispatched to Rome, including a woman as-
sistant—a position known in Mossad jargon as Bath Levayah—and two
technicians. The team set up surveillance on Öcalan’s apartment close
to the Vatican, but Öcalan suddenly left Italy before being found. The
Mossad team then began to search for him in most Mediterranean coun-
tries; however, it learned that on 2 February 1999 Öcalan had attempted
to enter the Netherlands but was turned away by Dutch authorities.
Sources within Schiphol Airport security informed the Mossad that
Öcalan had boarded a flight to Nairobi. Kenya was considered easy ter-
rain for the Mossad, since the relations between the intelligence com-
munities had developed over the years into fruitful cooperation.
Soon Öcalan was traced near the Greek embassy compound in
Nairobi, with his Kurdish bodyguards going in and out frequently.
The Mossad team reported daily to Tel Aviv on every move around
the compound and was ordered simply to continue to watch until the
instruction was given to capture Öcalan. The Mossad learned that
Öcalan had been turned down for political asylum in South Africa
and other African countries.
A member of the Mossad team with Kurdish appearance phoned
one of the Kurdish bodyguards whose identity had became known
when he was seen emerging from the embassy en route to the Nor-
folk Hotel. The Mossad agent suggested a meeting in town, at which
the agent told the Kurd that Öcalan’s life would be in danger if he re-
mained in the compound. He suggested that Öcalan move to the
mountains of northern Iraq, where he would be safe. This was an idea
that Öcalan himself had started to consider, as the Mossad had
learned by intercepting his phone calls from the Greek embassy.
Eventually Öcalan took the bait.ÖCALAN’S CAPTURE• 22106-102 (03) H-P.qxd 3/24/06 7:25 AM Page 221