Elhanan Tannenbaum - Kidnapping

Kidnapping

Elhanan Tannenbaum was captured after being lured under the false pretences of a drug deal. He was travelling on a forged passport.

Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah declared on 16 October 2000 on al-Manar TV station: "We have an Israeli colonel in our hands". Israel was initially unsure who that person might be, until Nasrallah confirmed it was Tannenbaum a few days later. Tannenbaum was a reserve colonel in the artillery. According to Ronen Bergman, he had an important position in the IDF Northern Command, doing 150 days of reserve duty a year and was thus privy to many important military secrets. Bergman writes that only five days before his abduction he was on duty at the Northern Command bunker in Safad overseeing a sensitive exercise: a full scale war with Hezbollah and Syria. Tannenbaum could expose the details of Israel's war plans to Hezbollah. Israel therefore decided to try to get him back as quickly as possible.

His capture is claimed to have been conducted by Imad Mugniyah, a senior member of Hezbollah. The capture was executed by Qais Obeid, an Israeli Arab, a grandson of former Knesset member Diyab Obeid, who crossed the lines to become senior officer for Hezbollah. Obeid was a close friend of Tannenbaum.