Bennett Brags About Failed Operation Regarding Ron Arad's Case
Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett reveals in a Knesset session that the Mossad carried out an operation to uncover the fate of the missing pilot, Ron Arad. Security officials and politicians criticize his move and describe it as a childish thing to do.
Israeli media said that Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett revealed, at the opening of the Knesset's winter session, what he described as an important security matter related to the fate of pilot Ron Arad. Arad's plane crashed in southern Lebanon in 1986, and was subsequently lost.
Bennett revealed that "Mossad agents recently went on a mission to uncover the whereabouts of Ron Arad, an Israeli Air Force navigator who was captured in 1986 and was last heard from in 1988."
Bennett told the Knesset plenum at the start of the winter parliamentary session that “It was a complex, widescale operation. That’s all that can be said right now.”
“We made further efforts on the path to understanding Ron’s fate,” Bennett noted.
Speaking on Monday, Bennett personally thanked Mossad personnel on behalf of the pilot's family for their efforts, while praising what he called the "cooperation" that took place between the Israeli occupation forces and the intelligence services.
Mossad's head: It was a failure
Israeli media also reported that the Mossad chief commented after the operation: "It was a brave, daring and complex operation, but it was not successful. It failed, it was a failure, but we will continue the efforts."
The head of the Mossad indicated that the operation "was in several countries, and it was creative," but according to him, it "did not succeed, and it did not achieve any breakthrough."
The Mossad chief continued his criticism of Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett by saying, "We know from whom Bennett learned to brag about secret operations, but it seems to me that the matter is excessive, in such a case it was enough to inform the family of Ron Arad, not the Israelis, from the Knesset podium. His speech was a bit childish."
Raviv Drucker: What happened was completely useless
Israeli "Channel 13" also quoted what it named a "senior security source" as saying that "Bennett made political use of a daring executive operation, but the bottom line is that the matter did not solve the mystery of Ron Arad."
As for the channel's political analyst, Raviv Drucker, he revealed that "What happened was completely useless, and the real goal of it was an attempt to show that a prime minister can bring with him to the Knesset podium secret information."
Drucker added: "It was useless, childish, and artificial. Even if it did not cause security damage, it certainly did not generate a feeling that the prime minister has any self-confidence, and that he is aware that was the head of government." The Israeli political analyst stressed that "such secret information should not be bragged about."
Dvory: Criticism inside the security and military establishment
In turn, the military correspondent for Israeli "Channel 12," Nir Dvory, also stated that "Inside the security and military establishment, there is criticism of what the prime minister announced today in the Knesset."
Dvory confirmed that he had heard the following: "It was preferable not to publish, it is not correct to talk about it. Unfortunately, there was no hack, so there was no need for it."
Yoav Galen: This is inappropriate
For his part, former Minister Yoav Galen commented on Bennett's revelation of the Mossad operation, saying, "This is not serious and is not appropriate for any prime minister in Israel."