Tests on bone remains Israel received a few weeks ago from a body said to be that of Ron Arad have revealed that they did not come from the missing Israel Air Force navigator, who disappeared after bailing out of his plane over Lebanon in 1986.
Top Israeli sources said that the remains were passed on from Hizbullah via Ernest Orlow, the German mediator who brokered last week's swap deal between the Lebanese resistance movement and Israel.
"There was a feeling that this was the real thing," said an Israeli source. Israel reportedly had previously received other signs of identification ostensibly from Arad, but they were also dismissed as fake.
If genuine information on Arad's fate is indeed received, Israel will release Samir Kuntar, who is in an Israeli jail since 1979. (Albawaba.com)
© 2004 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
