Daring Israeli Raid Captures Hamas Thug Responsible For Shalit Kidnapping

Palestinian sources told Ynet that the man was apparently involved in the kidnapping of IDF soldier Gilad Shalit.

The sources said that the undercover soldiers entered the Gaza Strip, and carried out their operation near the Rafah Crossing. According to the sources, the undercover soldiers were disguised as grocers riding a donkey-pulled wagon. Sources said they disguised force even chatted with locals near the crossing.

According to the report, the undercover soldiers approached a plot of land belonging to Muhawesh al-Kadi, a senior Hamas official who acts as spokesman of the organization’s special security forces in Rafah.

Al-Kadi was working his land when the disguised force approached and kidnapped him. The Palestinian sources reported that the operation went quickly and smoothly. The undercover force left Rafah with al-Kadi, and brought him to Israel.

According to the report, the operation was carried out about 2 kilometers from the security fence, in an area where a large number of Hamas gunmen are stationed.

Hamas officials confirmed that this was one of the Israelis' most daring acts and that troops disguised as Arabs had not entered so deep into the Strip for a long time.

Since Ehud Barak took over as Defense Minister, the Israeli forces have reevaluated their positions on a wide range of issues, including how to deal with the Hamas and Hizbullah holding Israeli soldiers Shalit, Goldwasser, and Regev. Going after one of the top Hamas leaders implicated in the Shalit operation puts pressure on Hamas to deal with Israel in a way it had not expected. It's putting Israel back on an offensive posture. It also gives Israel the opportunity to pump al-Kadi for information about Shalit and other Hamas operation.

Then, there's the speculation over why Israeli planes flew over Syria earlier this week. Why did those Israeli planes fly over? The Israelis aren't exactly saying, but was it to test Syrian air defense systems? Was it a recon mission to evaluate the new Russian systems that Syria and Iran have obtained over the past several years and the Israelis wanted to see what data they could get in overflights?

It does look like that might be part of the plan. It is also a tremendous embarrassment for the Syrians who have been unable to stop Israeli overflights - either through diplomatic channels or by military force.