HAS ISRAEL KIDNAPPED SHALIT'S KIDNAPPER?

Report: Israeli troops disguised as Palestinian grocers kidnap Gilad Shalit’s kidnapper
(HotAir)

No confirmation from the IDF but I bet it’s true. Ehud Barak is internationally famous for his participation in raids like these behind enemy lines, most notoriously when he dressed as a woman to assassinate PLO leaders in Beirut in 1973. He took over as defense minister from the much-maligned Amir Peretz less than three months ago; this is probably his way of leaving a calling card for Hamas.

Pretty awesome:

The sources said that the undercover soldiers entered the Gaza Strip, and carried out their operation near the Rafah Crossing. According to the sources, the undercover soldiers were disguised as grocers riding a donkey-pulled wagon. Sources said they disguised force even chatted with locals near the crossing.

According to the report, the undercover soldiers approached a plot of land belonging to Muhawesh al-Kadi, a senior Hamas official who acts as spokesman of the organization’s special security forces in Rafah.

Al-Kadi was working his land when the disguised force approached and kidnapped him. The Palestinian sources reported that the operation went quickly and smoothly. The undercover force left Rafah with al-Kadi, and brought him to Israel.

According to the report, the operation was carried out about 2 kilometers from the security fence, in an area where a large number of Hamas gunmen are stationed.

Hamas officials confirmed that this was one of the Israelis’ most daring acts and that troops disguised as Arabs had not entered so deep into the Strip for a long time.

Will they kill Shalit as a reprisal? Probably not. They can’t afford to invite an IDF offensive when they’re still worried about controlling the Gaza strip. I wonder if Israel will offer al-Kadi as part of the prisoner exchange.

Meanwhile, Debka floats a not-unlikely theory about that strange Israeli flyover of Syria a few days ago. Apparently, the IAF was able to jam the Russian-made Syrian anti-aircraft system; it so happens that Iran has the same system. You do the math.