
Israel planned to capture Palestinian Authority chairman Yasser Arafat at the height of the Second Intifada in the early 2000s, Channel 13 revealed Monday.
As part of a new four-part series interviewing Israeli security officials involved in the plan, Channel 13 released clips of interviews confirming that the Israeli government was planning in the early 2000s to capture the PA chairman and expel him from the country.
Admiral (Res.) Ram Rothberg, once the commander of Israel’s elite Shayetet 13 naval recon unit, confirmed in an interview for the series that a special forces team was put together with Shayetet 13 for the planned abduction operation.
Rothberg added that the team was trained for the operation, which he said specifically targeted the then-PA chief.
- Israel’s top brass seriously considered implementing the plan, considering it repeatedly, but ultimately declined to put the plan into action, amid questions over who would succeed Arafat at the helm of the PA.
Source: Arutz Sheva