irut and asked to be sent to Paris to replace Boudia. Although the leaders of the Popular Front were impressed with his work in London, they felt that he did not have the experience for the job and sent him back to London. On his return he was advised that Michel Moukharbal was to be Boudia's successor and Carlos was to serve as his second in command. Carlos was not pleased with the decision and resented Moukhabal's appointment, as he believed that he was unsuitable for the task. Regardless of his disappointment, Carlos made every effort to assist his new leader and agreed that Boudia's death would have to be avenged by striking at Zionist targets in Europe. The attack on Joseph Sieff in London was the first such strike that Carlos would claim responsibility for but it was only the beginning. A month after the attack on Sieff, Carlos made an aborted bomb attack on the Israeli Hapoalim Bank in London. The attack was a straightforward one. Carlos arrived at the bank during morning trading and opened the front doors and threw the device inside. The device, made from a Russian hand grenade attached to 600 grams of plastic explosive failed to detonate fully and only succeeded in blowing a small crater in the floor and breaking a window. The only casualty was a nineteen-year-old secretary who received minor cuts. Office of Minute newspaper after the bombing. The next chapter in the campaign that Carlos and Moukharbal had devised was the bombing of the offices of three French newspapers that were deemed to be pro-Israeli. Cars full of explosives were left outside the offices of L'Aurore, L'Arche, Minute and Maison de la Radio. The bombs were set to explode at two a.m. and Carlos later claimed that the hour was selected to limit human casualties. In addition he advised the papers of the attack. At the appointed time, three of the four bombs exploded causing massive damage. There were no casualties. The only paper to escape d...
