The kidnappers had entered Munich days before the attack, carefully inspecting their potential target before striking. In exchange for the nine lives they now held, they wanted 234 Palestinians jailed in Israel (and two in Germany) to be safely released in Egypt.
Israel refused to negotiate. It offered to send a Special Forces unit to Germany to handle the crisis, but German authorities rejected the offer and set up an untrained unit to handle rescue operations instead. They offered the kidnappers unlimited money, and also suggested swapping high-ranking Germans for the athletes, but the offers were rejected.
The Palestinians' reply was: 'Money means nothing to us. Our lives mean nothing to us.'
In the picture: A Palestinian terrorist watches an Olympics official (left).