A senior Israeli official rejected criticism of the disclosure of information on a recent operation to obtain information on missing Israeli airman Ron Arad, according to a Channel 12 News report.
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"The head of the Mossad [intelligence agency] wanted the operation to be publicized. [I'm] happy about the prime minister's recognition. He described the operation as an operational success," the official said.
Earlier Monday, some security officials said that while the operation was wide-ranging and daring, it had been a failure as no new information was obtained. At the same time, defense officials were said to question the operational benefit of exposing a failed operation, assessing this may have been done for political reasons. Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee Chairman Yesh Atid MK Ram Ben Barak, a former Mossad director, criticized the publication of information on the operation in an interview with Channel 12 News.
In a statement Monday, the Prime Minister's Office insisted: "The operation to obtain information on Ron Arad was a successful operation that was carried out while meeting exceptional operational objectives. There was value in presenting the information to Knesset members and the wider public, which expressed the effort and immense commitment to bringing our boys back home, even many years after they were taken hostage by the enemy. The dissemination of any other information is false and untrue."
A senior security official on Monday said the operation to uncover the truth about the fate of Ron Arad, a long-missing Israeli airman "was one of the most important and successful" in Israel's history and that "quality information was obtained."
Addressing the Knesset plenum's at the opening of the Knesset's winter session Tuesday, Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said Mossad intelligence agents carried out a "wide-ranging and bold" operation in September to try to uncover the fate of Ron Arad, a long-missing Israeli airman.
Arad, an air force navigator, bailed out of a warplane that went down over Lebanon during a 1986 mission. Initially taken prisoner by Lebanese Amal terrorists, he is widely assumed to no longer be alive. The aircraft's pilot was rescued.
He said the Mossad, the Shin Bet intelligence agency, and the Israel Defense Forces were all involved in the effort and that lives were at risk. Israel would continue its efforts to bring Arad home, Bennett said.
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