Munich Olympic victims’ families ‘considering German compensation offer’

The relatives of the Israeli athletes and coaches killed during the Munich Olympic Games massacre are reportedly preparing to accept a fresh offer of compensation.

Germany is preparing to increase its longstanding offer of money to the victims’ families ahead of next week’s 50th anniversary of the killings, in the hope it will end a decades-long dispute.

Earlier sums offered by the German government have not been disclosed, but they had been rejected by victims’ families as insulting.

Eleven members of the Israeli Olympic team were killed in 1972 after they were taken hostage at the Munich Olympic village by members of the Palestinian terror group Black September.

The site had been poorly guarded. Many died during a subsequent armed standoff and a botched rescue attempt by police.

Some payments have since been made to victims’ relatives, but families have demanded greater sums and for the authorities to be accept the mistakes they made half a century ago.

This week there were conflicting reports in the Israeli media about the possibility of a deal between the German government and the victims’ families.

The public broadcaster Kan said there were hopes in Berlin of a deal ahead of a public commemoration to mark the anniversary next Monday, but that an agreement was still unlikely.

But the website Ynet reported some families said they intended to accept the latest offer from the German government.