Lebanon investigates disappearance of retired officer linked to Ron Arad case
Shafaq News – Beirut
The ongoing investigations into the disappearance of retired Lebanese General Security officer Ahmad Shokr, missing for about a week, point to a suspected abduction carried out by Israel, Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper reported on Tuesday, citing a Lebanese judicial source.
The source said that the case is linked to suspicions surrounding Shokr’s alleged connection to the file of Israeli pilot Ron Arad, who went missing in Lebanon in 1986.
According to the source, the Information Branch of Lebanon’s Internal Security Forces has intensified its inquiries since Shokr was reported missing in the Beqaa province.
Investigators tracked surveillance camera footage and analyzed communications data, which indicated that Shokr may have been lured from his hometown of Nabi Sheet before his trail was lost near the city of Zahle.
The investigation has also raised the possibility that two individuals holding Swedish nationality, one of whom is of Lebanese origin, may be involved. The two reportedly arrived in Lebanon days before Shokr’s disappearance.
“No material evidence has so far confirmed Shokr’s presence inside Lebanese territory,” the source added, reinforcing the theory that he may have been transferred out of the country.
According to the judicial assessment, Shokr’s disappearance could represent a new episode in a series of Israeli operations linked to the Ron Arad case, whether through assassination, abduction, or intelligence entrapment.
Ron Arad, an Israeli Air Force navigator who went missing in October 1986 after ejecting from a damaged aircraft over western Lebanon. He was captured by the Shiite Amal movement, and Israel later received letters and photographs confirming he was alive until 1988. His ultimate fate remains unknown, and Israel officially classifies him as missing in action.
