Yaakov Perry: “The government should be commended for the swift action”
Former GSS chief Yaakov Perry: “First of all, unfortunately in a large number of cases of Israeli prisoners and missing persons, the reality is that we do not actually have direct access to the target who holds the prisoner or missing person,” he said.
Perry praised the operation: “In this respect, the government and its leader should be commended for starting to act from the moment they received information that there was an Israeli citizen held by the Syrian army. Ron Arad, one of the criticisms leveled at the government in those days, was a little late. At the time of his abduction, the State of Israel learned a lesson. “
Rami Igra: “The key to such affair with enemy countries is secrecy”
Former Mossad official Rami Igra, who will serve as head of the organization’s POWs and Missing Persons Division, explains that there is in fact no country that cannot be talked to below the surface if desired. “Suppose an Israeli citizen is held in North Korea, if the locals have no interest in telling the world anything, and he happens to be arrested there without the regime’s intention, then the release process is very simple and requires complete silence. The affair is completely removed from the agenda and the Mossad contacts a friendly intelligence organization.” “Making contact with the North Koreans. Then talks take place and usually the citizen is released quickly and under the media radar,” he said.
He added: “At this point, countries differ from terrorist organizations, because countries usually have no real interest in having an Israeli citizen with them, so these are not difficult and complex talks. For example, if an Israeli citizen comes to Pakistan, we will talk to them through Germany or the Americans. Absolutely, she will be released.
“In the case of the Syrian citizen, in principle, they call Russian intelligence, because in fact they are the owners of the house in Syria today. This is the way the bones of the late Zechariah Baumel returned to Israel and this is the way this civilian will probably return and maybe more IDF casualties,” he said. said.
He further explained: “The publication of the return of Zechariah Baumel’s bones somewhat embarrassed the Syrian regime, because they returned it without consideration, so this time they asked for one. This is the point, silence usually solves a lot of trouble. Therefore, even now I did not like the publication. “In a cabinet meeting because it often presents the other side in an unpleasant light, then it raises a price or cuts off contact. Secretly the institution has the ability to contact any country in the world. You always have a friend who has connections and business with the other side.”
Uzi Arad: “There have been a lot of crossings from and to Syria over the years”
Former Mossad official Professor Uzi Arad, a senior research fellow at the Yuval Ne’eman Workshop on Science, Technology and Security at Tel Aviv University and chairman of the Technion’s Super Strategy Forum in Haifa, explains that in Syria’s case there have been many third-party talks over the years.
“First, in the Israeli-Syrian context, it is possible to go back even 40 years, and see what happened and whoever checks will find out both in the context of Druze residents of the Golan Heights, and in family unification and Druze goods, that Israel and Syria have always been in continuous contact through third parties. The UN that were stationed on the ground, sometimes it was through the Red Cross, or the Swiss or a third country giving its good services. Therefore, usually all the activity in the matter was at field levels when the government or the responsible party knows but is not really involved in discussions that were quite regular, “says Arad.
He added: “In fact, there is a long list of such transitions between the parties, which exists either in the Foreign Ministry or in the IDF’s Foreign Relations Unit, and the connection itself is no exception. Now that Russia has settled in Syria and Lebanon, it has become a backward factor in territory that often mediates between the parties. Thus the bones of Zechariah were brought back to Israel in the late Omel.
“This time the deal was probably different because it required the approval of the entire government. Cynics will say it is because of the election, but it could very well be that there is a secret aspect to the deal between the parties, which requires a government decision. We do not know what Israel gives in return. “For the current deal, that’s probably the reason the government was convened because of it,” the former Mossad official explained.
There is a difference between negotiating with a state and negotiating with a terrorist organization
There is an international difference of principle that is accepted by the entire international community, and that is that they do not talk to criminals and terrorist organizations, because they are criminal organizations for everything. That is why the Quartet for many years refused to talk directly with Hamas in Gaza. Beyond that, from Israel’s point of view, talks with Hamas are in fact a kind of recognition of its existence, and Israel has never recognized or accepted the existence of a Hamas organization.
Beyond the statements, there is also a reality in which there are humanitarian situations, in which you discuss with the other side for the purpose of solving a problem. The necessity of grief will increase in these cases, and often sworn enemies converse.
In the case of Hamas, they are taking advantage of our sensitivity to the lives of our civilians and soldiers who have fallen or been captured. They are focusing on this point of demanding excessive prices. This is a problematic and morally problematic issue, and also gives the other side an incentive to continue kidnapping troops or civilians, in order to sustain a market. This is why the State of Israel has adopted some rules and procedures regarding future negotiations with Hamas and terrorist organizations.