A senior legal source in Lebanon said today (Tuesday) to the Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper that investigations into the disappearance of Lebanese officer Ahmad Shukr have raised the theory that he was kidnapped by Israel through an "intelligence entrapment operation." This theory is based on suspicions of his connections to the abduction of Ron Arad in southern Lebanon in 1986.
According to reports, Lebanese intelligence suspects that Shukr, a former officer in the Lebanese General Security apparatus, was kidnapped by Mossad after "falling victim to a sophisticated recruitment operation" in the Bekaa Valley in Lebanon.
Shukr disappeared five days ago after visiting the town of Nabi Sheet in northern Bekaa.
The source also mentioned that initial investigations revealed two Swedish citizens, one of Lebanese descent, who visited Lebanon before Shukr's disappearance. One of them even left Lebanon on the day Shukr disappeared.
Lebanese police have not found any evidence or technological findings indicating Shukr's presence in Lebanon, which strengthens the theory that he was kidnapped to Israel.
Shukr's relatives pointed out that he is the brother of Hassan Shukr, a Hezbollah operative killed during the IDF's "Law and Order" operation in 1988. During that period, IDF forces raided Hezbollah and other groups' bases. Hassan Shukr was part of the group responsible for the abduction of Ron Arad, and the group transferred Arad to an unknown location, where all trace of him disappeared.
Ahmad Shukr is also a relative of Fuad Shukr, Hezbollah's chief of staff, who was killed in an Israeli strike about a year and a half ago.