Four people accused of an alleged kidnapping in Lebanon for Israel’s Mossad spy agency last month have been charged, a judicial official says, after a retired security officer whose brother was linked to an Israeli airman’s disappearance went missing.
Israel has apprehended suspects in Lebanon before and Mossad is accused of regularly attempting to contact Lebanese people to facilitate its operations, while Lebanon has arrested dozens of people on suspicion of collaborating with Israel over the years.
Lebanese authorities believe the agency known for espionage operations outside of Israel’s borders is behind the disappearance of retired security officer Ahmad Shukr last month.
Shukr, whose brother Hassan is suspected of involvement in the 1986 capture of Israeli Air Force navigator Ron Arad, disappeared in the Beqaa region of eastern Lebanon.
Authorities have arrested and charged one Lebanese man and charged three more who remain at large.
The four are charged with “communicating with and working for Mossad within Lebanon in exchange for money, and carrying out the kidnapping of Ahmad Shukr,” a judicial official tells AFP on condition of anonymity.
The three are “a Lebanese woman, a Lebanese-French man, and a Syrian-Swedish man,” the official said.
The Israeli airman Ron Arad, whose plane went down in southern Lebanon during the country’s civil war between 1975 and 1990, is now presumed dead and his remains were never returned.
Hassan Shukr was killed in 1988 in a battle between Israeli forces and local fighters, including from the Iran-backed Hezbollah terror group, a source close to the family told AFP last month, requesting anonymity.
Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.