The IDF announced on Monday that the three soldiers kidnapped
by Hizbullah on Mount Dov a year ago are most probably not
alive. The announcement was first made to the families and
later to the press. The IDF asked its Chaplain to declare the
three missing soldiers "casualties whose place of burial is
unknown." The families said that they continue to pray and
hope for the return of their loved ones.
The IDF said it now believes that St.-Sgts. Benny Avraham and
Omar Suwayed and Sgt. Adi Avitan were mortally wounded when
their command car was attacked with mines and gunfire while
on patrol around a year ago on October 7, 2000.
The proof of their deaths came only a few days ago, said OC
Manpower Maj.-Gen. Gil Regev. "According to the assessment of
intelligence in our hands, there is a very high probability
that the [soldiers] are dead," Regev said. He said they
either died during the attack or shortly afterward.
Outside observers have noted that a lot of blood was seen in
the vehicle from which they were abducted, and they were then
presumably transported on unpaved backroads without medical
attention.
Hizbullah responded that the announcement was made so that
Israel could receive information on the missing soldiers.
Hizbullah leader Hassan Nasrallah said the "Zionists" were
wasting time and playing with the feelings of the families of
the missing soldiers but that in the end, they would be
forced to pay the humanitarian price demanded of them.
Regev said the final decision on the condition of the
soldiers was up to the OC Chaplaincy Corps Rabbi Yisrael
Weiss, who would make his ruling in a few days. Because one
of the soldiers is a Muslim, he will consult with Muslim
clerics.
Regev added that his announcement would not change Israel's
determination to bring their bodies home. The parents raised
concerns that the announcement would put the issue on the
back burner and efforts to retrieve them would founder. Regev
assured them it would not.
"People are asking what happened," said Regev. "The
probability was greatly altered, and our basic assumption was
changed. Until today, we believed they were alive. From now
on, our position is that they are dead."
He said that the latest piece of intelligence had been in the
IDF's hands for a few days, but it waited to reveal it to the
families until it could be cross-checked and verified. Chief
of General Staff Lt.-Gen. Shaul Mofaz was presented with the
new information and the updated assessment, and informed
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Defense Minister Binyamin Ben-
Eliezer of the facts. He then instructed that the families be
notified.
Regev warned against expected attempts by Hizbullah to refute
the IDF's new position. "We presume that [Hizbullah] will
contradict what we are saying now and will perhaps try to
support its claims with all sorts of deceptive photos or
other things," Regev said. "But we will remain firm in our
position."
Hizbullah has honed its use of psychological warfare tactics.
Its leader, Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah, has in the past turned
to the parents of the three kidnapped soldiers, saying they
should be aware that Israel had done nothing to secure their
release. Nasrallah has also maintained the soldiers were
well, despite the blood stains found at the scene of the
kidnapping.
Businessman and reserve colonel Elchanan Tannenbaum remains
missing and is believed held by Hizbullah. Abducted a year
ago, the IDF refused to say whether any word on his condition
has been received. The announcement on Monday did not apply
to his condition.
Tannenbaum, 57, disappeared shortly before the October 7,
2000, abduction of three IDF soldiers on Mount Dov by
Hizbullah gunmen. A few days later Hizbullah stunned the
country when it announced that it was holding a fourth
Israeli.
Since then, Tannenbaum's family has joined with the families
of the kidnapped soldiers to secure information on their
health and press for their return. Events surrounding
Tannenbaum's capture were never clear.
Officials in Israel and in the Israeli Embassy in Berne,
Switzerland, where Tannenbaum was reportedly snatched,
stressed that although he held the rank of colonel, he was
not involved in any military or intelligence activities but
was simply a private businessman.
Hizbullah has never publicly commented on Tannenbaum's
condition nor allowed representatives of any international
organization to examine him.
