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Abducted Israeli Officer May be Businessman in Europe: Israel TV
Israel's Channel Two television reported Sunday that the Israeli officer who was reportedly captured by Lebanese Hezbollah guerrillas may be an Israeli entrepreneur who based his business in Europe.
Earlier, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak said at the weekly cabinet meeting that he and his ministers had no information as yet about the reported kidnapping of an Israel Defense Forces high-ranking officer.
However, the TV report quoted senior Israeli political sources as saying, "There is something behind the dramatic announcement (of Hezbollah.)"
The person, who fell in the hands of Hezbollah guerrillas, was not in active military duty at present but he could be a reservist colonel. His family members live in the central part of the country. He, maybe an Israeli Arab, was abroad when the kidnapping took place.
Reports from Beirut earlier Sunday said that the Hezbollah militia group had captured an Israeli colonel, who was working for an "Israeli security apparatus," in "a unique security operation."
No further details were released.
Israeli Chief of General Staff Shaul Mofaz said Sunday that he could not confirm or deny the kidnapping claims. The only thing he could confirm was that the abduction did not take place along the Israeli-Lebanese border, the army chief added.
Barak's top aide Danny Yatom said Sunday morning that Israel always takes announcement by the guerrillas seriously and Israel had launched an emergency investigation.
Barak later also stated that he could not exclude the possibility that the abducted officer is a reservist colonel.
Hezbollah, or Party of God, which had inflicted heavy casualties on Israeli troops during their 22-year occupation of a so-called security zone in south Lebanon and forced Israel to withdraw its forces in May, now take de facto control of south Lebanon.
It had kidnapped three Israeli soldiers in an ambush along the Israeli-Lebanese border on October 7. Israel and the international community are working for the release of these soldiers.
Security sources said that the Israeli colonel kidnapped on Sunday maybe an Israeli Arab working for Israeli intelligence agencies and seeking contact with the Lebanese to get information on the three captured Israeli soldiers.
It is still unclear whether Sunday's kidnapping incident will affect the scheduled summit between Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak and Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat in the Egyptian Red Sea resort of Sharm el Sheikh on Monday.
The summit is aimed at stopping the Israeli-Palestinian violence, which had plagued the region for more than two weeks and caused more than 100 deaths, mostly Palestinians.
Hezbollah had announced that its new capture was dedicated to their Palestinian brothers.
It was worried that any new negative incident, like the one on Sunday, will ruin the delicate atmosphere before the summit and make the summit fail.
After Hezbollah guerrillas abducted the three soldiers a week ago, Barak announced a 48-hour ultimatum to Arafat to stop the violence, otherwise, peace talks will end and Israeli troops will act with full force.
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