JERUSALEM (JTA) — A Lebanese woman was arrested for "conspiring with the Israeli enemy" for trying to provide information on missing airman Ron Arad.
Rada al-Akili reportedly tried to respond to a phone call originating from Israel offering $10 million for reliable information on Arad’s fate. The Arabic language al-Hayat, based in London, reported her arrest Tuesday.
The Lebanese army had warned over the summer that attempts to respond to the calls asking for information on the missing Israeli soldier would constitute cooperating with the enemy, saying that the messages were in violation of Lebanese sovereignty.
Akili tried to contact the Israeli phone number five times, according to reports. There is no information on what has happened to Akili; she is expected to face a military tribunal.
Israel says it is still searching for Arad, whose plane went down over Lebanon in 1986. According to a classified Military Intelligence report, Arad remained alive at least nine years after his plane went down and likely died in Lebanon in the mid-1990s.
