Egyptian authorities have arrested a suspect in the kidnapping of IDF Staff Sgt. Gilad Shalit in what sources said appears to be an intensified attempt to locate the captive soldier.
The suspect, Ahmed Atta, is the 22-year-old son of an Egyptian man and a Palestinian Authority woman from Gaza.
Sources quoted in a report published Monday in The Jerusalem Post said, “This is not the first time that the Egyptians arrest Palestinians and question them about Shalit. We believe that the Egyptians are trying to help the Israelis find out where the soldier is being held.”
The arrest represents the first time a suspect has been arrested specifically for his connection to the Shalit kidnapping. In addition, PA Arabs treated in Egypt for wounds sustained during Israel’s military operation in Gaza in January have also been questioned in connection with the case.
Egyptian security personnel have questioned Gaza medical patients about the military capabilities of the Hamas terrorists who rule the region in which they live, and about their leaders, including Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh.
Atta’s father Mahmoud, who allegedly was once an imam (Islamic cleric –ed.) has been a fugitive from the Egyptian intelligence agency for nearly 10 years. The elder Atta is suspected of membership in a radical Islamic organization and of involvement in terrorist activities in Egypt, according to unnamed sources quoted in the report.
Mahmoud Atta is believed to have escaped into Gaza when Hamas terrorists blew a hole in the barrier at the border with Egypt in January 2008.
Egyptian security officers caught up with the younger Atta shortly after he crossed into Egypt from Gaza with his mother several weeks ago. The mother was prohibited from leaving the country, and although Atta was freed after being questioned about his father, he was soon arrested again and has been held ever since.
Gilad Shalit was kidnapped on June 25, 2006 during a cross-border raid by Hamas terrorists on an IDF outpost near the Kerem Shalom Crossing near the Gaza border. His whereabouts and condition are unknown.