2000 Hezbollah cross-border raid
Encyclopedia
In the 2000 Hezbollah cross-border raid Hezbollah militants captured three IDF soldiers; Benny Avraham, Adi Avitan and Omar Sawaid, while they were patrolling the security fence along the border with Lebanon
, and took them across the border. It is not clear when or under which circumstances the three soldiers died. Their bodies were returned to Israel in a prisoner exchange on 29 January 2004.
The abduction was the first incident between Israel and Lebanon after the Israeli withdrawal from South Lebanon in May 2000, and it was followed by several other attempts of the Hezbollah to kidnap Israeli soldiers, until eventually on July 12, 2006 Hezbollah managed to kidnap the Israeli soldiers Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev
in another cross-border raid, an event that led to the eruption of the Second Lebanon War.
at Har Dov, an IDF patrol manned by Adi Avitan (22), Staff Sgt. Benyamin Avraham (21), and Staff Sgt. Omar Sawaid (27), was ambushed by a Hezbollah squad. The patrol car was hit by a rocket. The Hezbollah squad blasted a gate in the fence and a civilian Range Rover car entered Israeli-occupied territory to collect the captives and made a quick getaway.
Several factors contributed to the ease with which Hezbollah could carry out the abduction. The location of the abduction was situated between the 91st and the 36th Division. IDF bureaucracy prevented coordination and information sharing between the two. The IDF
had received indications that Hezbollah was planning an abduction at the site. A patrol from the Egoz
elite unit belonging to the 91st Division had observed Hezbollah activity in the area, which seemed to be an ideal place for an abduction. This information had not been passed on to the 36th Division. Neither the electronic border fence nor the surveillance cameras was functioning at the relevant section but was repaired only after the incident.
The bodies of the three captives were returned in a prisoner exchange in 2004. It is not known when or under what circumstances the three soldiers were killed. In October 2001 IDF stated that Israeli military intelligence estimated that “the three were either killed during the initial Hizbullah attack or immediately afterward”.
A video released by Hezbollah and broadcast by LBC
seems to indicate that at least one of the captives was able to walk being led to the get-away car. Ya'akov Avitan, father of the abducted soldiers, said that the film indicates that, "the boys were alive when they were kidnapped... they [Hezbollah] murdered our boys in cold blood after the kidnap."
The Hannibal Directive
is a secret IDF order stating that abductions of Israeli soldiers must be prevented by all means, including shooting at or shelling a get-away car, thereby risking the lives of the captives. When the abduction of the three soldiers became known the Hannibal directive was invoked. Israeli attack helicopters fired at 26 cars moving in the area. The number of casualties, Hezbollah or civilian, is not known. There are however no clear indications that the captives were inside any of the attacked cars or were harmed in the attacks.
Since their abduction, they were held incommunicado by Hezbollah in an unknown location. The captors denied the International Committee of the Red Cross
(ICRC) and other parties permission to visit them and to learn at first hand about their state of health and the conditions they were held in.
announced that an arrangement had been concluded regarding the return of the three missing IDF soldiers - as well as abducted Israeli citizen Elchanan Tenenbaum, who had been captured by Hezbollah after being lured to Dubai
for a drug deal.
Hezbollah instigated negotiations over the release of 14 Lebanese prisoners, together with a number of Palestinian prisoners. On January 29, 2004, 30 Lebanese and Arab prisoners, 400 Palestinian prisoners, German
national and Hezbollah member Steven Smyrek, and the remains of 59 Lebanese militants and civilians were transferred to Hezbollah, along with maps showing Israeli mines in South Lebanon, in exchange for Tenenbaum and the remains of the three dead soldiers.
Among the 435 people released by Israel were Mustafa Dirani
and Sheik Abdel Karim Obeid
. These two individuals were kidnapped, in 1994 and 1989 respectively, for use as bargaining chips in the effort to secure the release of the most famous of the Israeli MIAs
, Ron Arad
. Fearing the release of these men would end any hope of finding Arad, his family attempted to take legal action to prevent their release. Nothing came of this effort.
The bodies were positively identified and arrived during the evening hours in Israel
. The soldiers were returned in an IAF
aircraft along with an IDF delegation headed by Chief Military Rabbi, Brg. Gen. Israel Weiss
. Upon the arrival of the coffins, a military ceremony took place in the presence of their families and commanders. The ceremony was attended by President Moshe Katsav
, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon
, Minister of Defense Shaul Mofaz
, Knesset Speaker Reuven Rivlin
and IDF Chief of Staff, Lt. Gen. Moshe Ya'alon
.
Lebanon
Lebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among...
, and took them across the border. It is not clear when or under which circumstances the three soldiers died. Their bodies were returned to Israel in a prisoner exchange on 29 January 2004.
The abduction was the first incident between Israel and Lebanon after the Israeli withdrawal from South Lebanon in May 2000, and it was followed by several other attempts of the Hezbollah to kidnap Israeli soldiers, until eventually on July 12, 2006 Hezbollah managed to kidnap the Israeli soldiers Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev
Zar'it-Shtula incident
The 2006 Hezbollah cross-border raid was a cross-border attack committed by Lebanon-based Hezbollah militants on an Israeli military patrol on 12 July 2006 on Israeli territory....
in another cross-border raid, an event that led to the eruption of the Second Lebanon War.
The attack and abduction
While patrolling the border near the Shebaa FarmsShebaa farms
The Shebaa Farms are a small uninhabited territory claimed by Lebanon, but occupied by Israel which claims they are in Syria's Golan Heights. Syrian policy is to vaguely accept the Lebanese claim, while refusing any binding demarcation until Israeli forces withdraw from the area.The United Nations...
at Har Dov, an IDF patrol manned by Adi Avitan (22), Staff Sgt. Benyamin Avraham (21), and Staff Sgt. Omar Sawaid (27), was ambushed by a Hezbollah squad. The patrol car was hit by a rocket. The Hezbollah squad blasted a gate in the fence and a civilian Range Rover car entered Israeli-occupied territory to collect the captives and made a quick getaway.
Several factors contributed to the ease with which Hezbollah could carry out the abduction. The location of the abduction was situated between the 91st and the 36th Division. IDF bureaucracy prevented coordination and information sharing between the two. The IDF
Israel Defense Forces
The Israel Defense Forces , commonly known in Israel by the Hebrew acronym Tzahal , are the military forces of the State of Israel. They consist of the ground forces, air force and navy. It is the sole military wing of the Israeli security forces, and has no civilian jurisdiction within Israel...
had received indications that Hezbollah was planning an abduction at the site. A patrol from the Egoz
Egoz Reconnaissance Unit
The Egoz Reconnaissance Unit is an elite special forces unit of the Israel Defense Forces that specializes in guerrilla and anti-guerrilla warfare among other things. The Egoz Battalion is part of the Northern Command's Golani Brigade....
elite unit belonging to the 91st Division had observed Hezbollah activity in the area, which seemed to be an ideal place for an abduction. This information had not been passed on to the 36th Division. Neither the electronic border fence nor the surveillance cameras was functioning at the relevant section but was repaired only after the incident.
The bodies of the three captives were returned in a prisoner exchange in 2004. It is not known when or under what circumstances the three soldiers were killed. In October 2001 IDF stated that Israeli military intelligence estimated that “the three were either killed during the initial Hizbullah attack or immediately afterward”.
A video released by Hezbollah and broadcast by LBC
LBC
LBC Radio operates two London-based radio stations, with news and talk formats. LBC was Britain's first legal commercial Independent Local Radio station, providing a service of news and information to London. It began broadcasting on 8 October 1973, a week ahead of Capital Radio...
seems to indicate that at least one of the captives was able to walk being led to the get-away car. Ya'akov Avitan, father of the abducted soldiers, said that the film indicates that, "the boys were alive when they were kidnapped... they [Hezbollah] murdered our boys in cold blood after the kidnap."
The Hannibal Directive
Hannibal Directive
The Hannibal Directive or “Hannibal Procedure” is a secret directive of the Israel Defense Forces with the purpose of preventing Israeli soldiers being captured by enemy forces in the course of combat. Israel has with few exceptions adhered to the principle of not negotiating with what it...
is a secret IDF order stating that abductions of Israeli soldiers must be prevented by all means, including shooting at or shelling a get-away car, thereby risking the lives of the captives. When the abduction of the three soldiers became known the Hannibal directive was invoked. Israeli attack helicopters fired at 26 cars moving in the area. The number of casualties, Hezbollah or civilian, is not known. There are however no clear indications that the captives were inside any of the attacked cars or were harmed in the attacks.
Since their abduction, they were held incommunicado by Hezbollah in an unknown location. The captors denied the International Committee of the Red Cross
International Committee of the Red Cross
The International Committee of the Red Cross is a private humanitarian institution based in Geneva, Switzerland. States parties to the four Geneva Conventions of 1949 and their Additional Protocols of 1977 and 2005, have given the ICRC a mandate to protect the victims of international and...
(ICRC) and other parties permission to visit them and to learn at first hand about their state of health and the conditions they were held in.
Prisoner exchange
On November 9, 2003, the Government of IsraelCabinet of Israel
The Cabinet of Israel is a formal body composed of government officials called ministers, chosen and led by the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister must appoint members based on the distribution of votes to political parties during legislative elections, and its composition must be approved by a...
announced that an arrangement had been concluded regarding the return of the three missing IDF soldiers - as well as abducted Israeli citizen Elchanan Tenenbaum, who had been captured by Hezbollah after being lured to Dubai
Dubai
Dubai is a city and emirate in the United Arab Emirates . The emirate is located south of the Persian Gulf on the Arabian Peninsula and has the largest population with the second-largest land territory by area of all the emirates, after Abu Dhabi...
for a drug deal.
Hezbollah instigated negotiations over the release of 14 Lebanese prisoners, together with a number of Palestinian prisoners. On January 29, 2004, 30 Lebanese and Arab prisoners, 400 Palestinian prisoners, German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
national and Hezbollah member Steven Smyrek, and the remains of 59 Lebanese militants and civilians were transferred to Hezbollah, along with maps showing Israeli mines in South Lebanon, in exchange for Tenenbaum and the remains of the three dead soldiers.
Among the 435 people released by Israel were Mustafa Dirani
Mustafa Dirani
Mustafa Dirani was a member and held position of "the head of security" of the Amal movement, a Shi'a militia in Lebanon associated with Syria. In 1987 he started contacts with pro-Iran sources, and eventually he created contacts between them and the rest of the leadership of Amal...
and Sheik Abdel Karim Obeid
Abdel Karim Obeid
Abdel Karim Obeid is a sheik and Imam of the village of Jibchit in south Lebanon, high-place of Lebanese Shiism.Regarded as the spiritual leader and soldier of the 'Islamic Amal' in the south of Tyre, close to Hizballah and related to...
. These two individuals were kidnapped, in 1994 and 1989 respectively, for use as bargaining chips in the effort to secure the release of the most famous of the Israeli MIAs
Israeli MIAs
Israeli MIA are members of the Israel Defense Forces who are missing in action. Despite efforts to locate them and bring them home, their whereabouts remain unknown...
, Ron Arad
Ron Arad (pilot)
Lieutenant Colonel Ron Arad , was an Israeli Air Force weapon systems officer who is officially classified as missing in action since October 1986, but is widely presumed dead...
. Fearing the release of these men would end any hope of finding Arad, his family attempted to take legal action to prevent their release. Nothing came of this effort.
The bodies were positively identified and arrived during the evening hours in Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
. The soldiers were returned in an IAF
Israeli Air Force
The Israeli Air Force is the air force of the State of Israel and the aerial arm of the Israel Defense Forces. It was founded on May 28, 1948, shortly after the Israeli Declaration of Independence...
aircraft along with an IDF delegation headed by Chief Military Rabbi, Brg. Gen. Israel Weiss
Military Rabbinate
The Military Rabbinate is a corps in the Israel Defense Forces that provides religious services to soldiers, primarily to Jews but also including non-Jews, and makes decisions on issues of religion and military affairs. The Military Rabbinate is headed by the Chief Military Rabbi, who is ranked a...
. Upon the arrival of the coffins, a military ceremony took place in the presence of their families and commanders. The ceremony was attended by President Moshe Katsav
Moshe Katsav
Moshe Katsav is an Israeli politician. He served as the eighth President of Israel, a leading Likud member of the Israeli Knesset, and a Cabinet Minister in its government....
, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon
Ariel Sharon
Ariel Sharon is an Israeli statesman and retired general, who served as Israel’s 11th Prime Minister. He has been in a permanent vegetative state since suffering a stroke on 4 January 2006....
, Minister of Defense Shaul Mofaz
Shaul Mofaz
Lt. General Shaul Mofaz is an Israeli politician who serves as the Chairman of the Foreign Affairs And Defense Committee at the Knesset...
, Knesset Speaker Reuven Rivlin
Reuven Rivlin
Reuven "Rubi" Rivlin is an Israeli lawyer, politician, currently serving as a speaker of the Knesset. He belongs to conservative Likud. A former Speaker of the Knesset, in 2007 he ran in the election for President as the Likud candidate...
and IDF Chief of Staff, Lt. Gen. Moshe Ya'alon
Moshe Ya'alon
Moshe "Bogie" Ya'alon is an Israeli politician and former Chief of Staff of the Israel Defense Forces. He currently serves as a member of the Knesset for Likud, as well as the country's Vice Prime Minister and Minister of Strategic Affairs.-Early life:...
.
Post abduction events
- Hezbollah continued to attack2000-2006 Shebaa Farms conflictThe 2000–2006 Shebaa Farms conflict was a low level border conflict consisting of Hezbollah rocket and mortar attacks on the Israeli Defense Forces and IDF artillery barrages and air strikes in Southern Lebanon...
civilians and IDF patrols in the Shebaa FarmsShebaa farmsThe Shebaa Farms are a small uninhabited territory claimed by Lebanon, but occupied by Israel which claims they are in Syria's Golan Heights. Syrian policy is to vaguely accept the Lebanese claim, while refusing any binding demarcation until Israeli forces withdraw from the area.The United Nations...
area in the leadup to the 2006 Lebanon War. - Hezbollah's desire for Israeli prisoners that could be exchanged with Israel led to Hezbollah's abduction of Israeli soldiersZar'it-Shtula incidentThe 2006 Hezbollah cross-border raid was a cross-border attack committed by Lebanon-based Hezbollah militants on an Israeli military patrol on 12 July 2006 on Israeli territory....
, which triggered the 2006 Lebanon War. - On July 16, 2008, Hezbollah exchanged2008 Israel-Hezbollah prisoner swapThe 2008 Israel–Hezbollah prisoner exchange took place on July 16, 2008 when Hezbollah transferred the coffins of two Israeli soldiers in exchange for 5 Lebanese militants held by Israel as well as the bodies of 199 mainly Lebanese and Palestinian militants captured in Lebanon or Israel in the...
the bodies of the two IsraelIsraelThe State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
i soldiers captured during the 2006 Lebanon War, Ehud GoldwasserEhud GoldwasserEhud Goldwasser was an Israeli soldier who was abducted in Israel by Hezbollah along with Eldad Regev on 12 July 2006, sparking the 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict. His rank was First Sergeant....
and Eldad RegevEldad RegevEldad Regev was an Israeli soldier, born in Qiryat Motzkin, abducted by Hezbollah members along with Ehud Goldwasser on July 12, 2006, in Israel near the Lebanese border, sparking the 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict. His rank was Sergeant First Class....
, for LebaneseLebanonLebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among...
convicted murderer Samir KuntarSamir KuntarSamir Kuntar is a Lebanese Druze convicted murderer and former member of the Palestine Liberation Front...
, four Hezbollah militants captured by Israel during the 2006 Lebanon War (Khaled Zidan, Maher Kurani, Mohammed Sarur and Hussein Suleiman), and the bodies of 200 Lebanese and Palestinians.
See also
- Israeli MIA prisoner exchangesIsraeli MIA prisoner exchangesOver the last 30 years, Israel has released about 7,000 Palestinian prisoners to secure freedom for 19 Israelis and to retrieve the bodies of eight others. A number of diplomatic efforts have been made to secure the release of Israeli IDF personnel following their capture by enemy forces.In 1985,...
- Israeli-Lebanese conflict
- 2000-2006 Shebaa Farms conflict2000-2006 Shebaa Farms conflictThe 2000–2006 Shebaa Farms conflict was a low level border conflict consisting of Hezbollah rocket and mortar attacks on the Israeli Defense Forces and IDF artillery barrages and air strikes in Southern Lebanon...
- United Nations Security Council Resolution 425United Nations Security Council Resolution 425United Nations Security Council Resolution 425, adopted on March 19, 1978, five days after the Israeli invasion of Lebanon, called on Israel to withdraw immediately its forces from Lebanon and established the United Nations Interim Force In Lebanon...
- United Nations Interim Force in LebanonUnited Nations Interim Force in LebanonThe United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon, or UNIFIL, was created by the United Nations, with the adoption of Security Council Resolution 425 and 426 on 19 March 1978, to confirm Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon which Israel had invaded five days prior, restore international peace and security,...
- 2006 Lebanon War
- Israeli MIAsIsraeli MIAsIsraeli MIA are members of the Israel Defense Forces who are missing in action. Despite efforts to locate them and bring them home, their whereabouts remain unknown...