JERUSALEM (VINnews) — Prime Minister Bennett referred Monday at the opening of the winter Knesset session to a recent Mossad operation designed to discover information about the fate of Ron Arad, the Israeli airman captured in 1986 after he bailed out of a plane over South Lebanon.Bennett said that the operation, involving male and female Mossad agents, took place last month in an effort to discover what happened to Arad, who is presumed dead, but added that “this is all that can be said right now.”
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Israel believes that Arad was handed over to Iran by Shiite pro-Iranian elements. Several signs of life were received in the first two years of his incarceration, including photos and letters, the last of which was sent on May 5, 1988. Arad has long been presumed dead but the circumstances of his demise remain unclear to this day. In 2003, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon revealed that an intelligence agent had been killed during efforts to rescue Arad. In 2006, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah said the group believed Arad was dead and his burial site unknown, and in 2008, German negotiator Gerhard Konrad told Israel that Hezbollah said Arad died during a 1988 escape attempt.
Arabic media reports claimed Monday that the intelligence operation involved the kidnapping of an Iranian general for interrogation regarding Arad. Mossad agents allegedly took the general from Syria to an unnamed African country where he was interrogated and eventually released, according to a report by the London-based Rai al-Youm online newspaper.
At the same time, Israeli media elements accused Bennett of revealing the existence of the highly sensitive operation for political reasons. Channel 12 initially cited Mossad chief David Barnea as calling the operation a “failure” but later revealed that it was Barnea who had asked Bennett to reveal the operation. Barnea said that “the praise and recognition for the Mossad sacrificing to return Arad and other captives and MIAs was important for members of the organization along with the praise for soldiers.” He also described the operation as a major success. Several signs of life were received in the first two years of his incarceration, including photos and letters, the last of which was sent on May 5, 1988.
Yediot Aharonot quoted an unnamed “senior intelligence source” claiming that “the Mossad achieved its mission,” and Israel Hayom quoted a senior intelligence source calling it “one of the most important and successful operations to bring quality information about Arad.” The Prime Minister’s Office also released a statement describing it as a “successful operation carried out while meeting exceptional operational objectives.”
“Bringing the information to the Knesset members and the general public was of value, expressing the great effort and commitment to return our sons to their borders, even many years after they were captured by the enemy. Any other dissemination of information is false,” the statement read.