Since the soldier abducted by Hamas terrorists and kept in captivity in the Gaza Strip for five years, SFC Gilad Shalit, was returned to Israel, there were over five attempts to kidnap soldiers in northern Israel.I was curious as to who would be attempting to kidnap soldiers in the north - Hezbollah? Hamas? Israeli Arabs?
"There is a direct link between Shalit's return and the kidnapping attempts," said Northern Command's military police commander, Lt. Col. Nir Golan and explained: "Terror organizations know that Israel will pay a high price for kidnapped soldiers and their motivation to abduct additional soldiers is on the rise."
The abduction attempts were reported by soldiers. After such an attempt is reported, it is conveyed to the IDF criminal investigation division for further investigation. "The reports that could not be proven false are considered to be kidnapping attempts," said Lt. Col. Golan.
The military police began intensified preventative operations, such as mock abductions and raising awareness among soldiers. "Every day there are undercover teams looking for hitchhiking soldiers," said Lt. Col. Golan.
I asked the IDF spokesperson and the reply I received was "The kidnapping attempts were executed by Israeli Arabs, sympathizers with terror organizations. That's all we can say about the subject currently."