Air Force Chief Maj.-Gen. Tomer Bar hinted at potential Israeli involvement in a recent operation to return the remains of long-lost shot-down IAF pilot Ron Arad on Wednesday.
“We will continue and hope that Ron Arad, all of ours, will also be brought back from the mission to which he was sent,” he said at the air force pilot-cadets course graduation ceremony.
One day after Arab media reported that a retired Lebanese general, who might have information about Arad, had disappeared recently, with allegations that Israel had kidnapped him, Bar seemed to give a nod that the issue is still current for the Jewish state.
Arad's condition unknown for decades
Arad has been lost for nearly 40 years, but at various points, there were negotiations to try to get him back, whether dead or alive.
When The Jerusalem Post inquired about Israeli involvement in the alleged kidnapping of the retired Lebanese general, the IDF and Shin Bet declined to respond. Mossad also declined to respond, but notably did not deny involvement.
The air force chief, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Israel Katz, and IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Eyal Zamir also threatened Iran with a repeat air force attack if it continues to present a growing threat to Israel, while not giving a specific redline.
Netanyahu is due to meet with United States President Donald Trump in Washington on December 29 to try to reach an understanding on how to handle Iran and other issues.