Mohamed Mohsen Wedd - Occupied Jerusalem
While Israeli planes bombed Iranian warehouses in Aleppo, an Israeli El-Al plane landed at Tel Aviv airport carrying the remains of the soldier Zakhari Boumil, one of the missing soldiers of the battle of Sultan Yacoub in the 1982 war against Lebanon, which was returned from Syria by a special operation lasting several months.
Israel used the war on Syria to search for the remains of its soldiers, waiting stations and secret operations over 37 years, where thirty Israeli soldiers were killed in the Battle of Sultan Yacoub, which raged between the Syrian and Israeli armies in Lebanon.
The battle was considered an Israeli intelligence failure, while the fate of three Israelis remained unknown, both soldiers and citizens of American origin.
During these years, the Israeli army and intelligence have been active in collecting information on the remains of missing persons, without coordination with the Russians or field assistance from the Syrian regime.
| Putin during Netanyahu's reception in Moscow (Netanyahu's office) |
Role of the system
In the year 2016, developments prompted Israel to transfer information to the Russians who had used the army to find the corpse to return its remains to Tel Aviv. The body of Pommel was found in a cemetery south of Yarmouk refugee camp in Damascus, Israeli media reported.
The sources speculated that Russian troops arrived on 19 March last to Yarmouk camp and raided the cemetery. Russian soldiers were seen leaving five days later carrying a bag of bags.
Israeli army spokesman Ronin Menlis unveiled a campaign called "Zimmer Noga" on Thursday evening. After Israeli intelligence determined the body's location, the information was transferred to Russia, and dozens of bodies were analyzed.
The Israeli army deliberately concealed the Russian role and the nature of the assistance provided by the regime, but journalist Barak Ravid quoted a senior Israeli official as saying that "Russia helped Israel locate and recover the body of Bommel."
On the role of the regime in this mission, Rafid recalled in a tweet on Twitter the dropping of the Russian plane in Syria last September and statements by the spokesman of the Russian Defense Ministry on the Israeli government's request from Moscow to assist in finding the bodies of the Israeli soldiers. - in cooperation with the forces of the Syrian regime - the bodies in areas under the control of the Islamic State Organization.
| A ceremony in the Russian Ministry of Defense for the funeral of the Israeli soldier (Netanyahu's office) |
Mutual interests
Israeli analysts said the timing of the handover was a gift from Russian President Vladimir Putin and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ahead of the Jan. 9 Knesset elections in support of a fifth term.
Netanyahu recently said that the Israeli strikes in Syria were not directed against the Assad regime, but against the Iranian military presence there, in reference to his position supporting the survival of Assad to power.
The chances of progress in the return of the soldiers' bodies seemed more realistic during the war in Syria, especially after the intervention of the Russian army in September 2015 to support the regime and prevent its collapse. The Haaretz analyst Amos Harel believes that the Russians who saved Assad created by their decision to intervene in the war Negotiations on everything related to Israel, where Netanyahu nurtured effective relations with Putin, creating a mechanism to prevent friction between the air force.
Harel asserts that the return of the body is a great success for the Israeli army, intelligence and the government, after many disappointments and years after solving the mystery of the missing soldiers was impossible, while Israel continues its efforts to locate the other missing persons.
"Netanyahu's political achievement is likely to translate into the electoral arena as well, and he may be able to resolve the competition. The return of the remains also attests to Netanyahu's strong and close personal relations with the foreign leaders."
Israel has its own interests in Syria, especially the stability of the regime, even in cooperation with Iran and Hezbollah, but the relationship between Netanyahu and Putin has helped Israel strengthen its understandings and recover the remains of the missing.