Report: Israeli troops disguised as Palestinian grocers kidnap Gilad Shalit’s kidnapper

No confirmation from the IDF but I bet it’s true. Ehud Barak is internationally famous for his participation in raids like these behind enemy lines, most notoriously when he dressed as a woman to assassinate PLO leaders in Beirut in 1973. He took over as defense minister from the much-maligned Amir Peretz less than three months ago; this is probably his way of leaving a calling card for Hamas.

Meanwhile, Debka [yeah, I know, but I still want to believe. Ed.] floats a not-unlikely theory about that strange Israeli flyover of Syria a few days ago. Apparently, the IAF was able to jam the Russian-made Syrian anti-aircraft system; it so happens that Iran has the same system. You do the math.

There are two different versions of this story. One says that the IDF came on a donkey drawn carriage and kidnapped him as he was 'working his land.' The other says that IDF soldiers dressed as civilians drove a Subaru into an intersection and forced him to get into the car. I even heard one version on the radio that said that he was taken to the airport in Dhaniyeh (which has been closed since an Israeli security person was murdered on the way there in 2000 - the IDF has long since made mince meat out of the runways) and that he was then taken by helicopter to Israel.

Also related to that story (linked on bloggie here), Carl reports that Turkey is demanding an explanation.