A senior German official told Kan 11 News on Monday that the German government is expected to offer increased compensation to the families of the 11 Israeli athletes who were murdered during the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich.
According to the report, the Germans are hoping that, as a result of the proposal, the families will participate in the ceremony marking the 50th anniversary of the massacre that will take place on Monday next week, but according to the source, the gap between the families' demand and the original proposal is so large that it is hard to believe that they will actually reach an agreement.
The lawyers of both parties are expected to meet again on Tuesday in Berlin and Munich, and the offer is expected to be brought up at that time. According to the current proposal, the total amount of the compensation will be 5.5 million euros which will be divided between more than 20 remaining family members of the athletes, so that each one will receive about 200 thousand euros. The families rejected the offer, called it “humiliating”, and announced that they would not take part in the ceremony next week.
Ilana Romano, the widow of Yosef Romano, one of the murdered athletes, said that the Germans should significantly improve their offer. "When the German government released two months later the three terrorists who were responsible for the massacre, it paid them nine million euros. We will not settle for less," she said.