Israeli and Lebanese negotiators are discussing returning the remains of missing Israel Air Force navigator Ron Arad in exchange for Lebanese prisoners, Lebanese media reported on Tuesday.
The news about Arad's possible return comes as Israel and Lebanon enter the fifth round of talks in the United States, which will be centered on creating "pilot areas" where Israeli forces would withdraw in order for the Lebanese army to prove its ability to disarm Hezbollah.
Israeli officials told The Jerusalem Post that they were unaware of this development and had no new information on Ron Arad, but that they would be pleased to hear if Lebanese officials had new intel.
Who was IAF navigator Ron Arad?
Arad was declared missing in action on October 16, 1986, when his plane crashed after malfunctioning following a strike on the Palestine Liberation Organization near Sidon, southern Lebanon. He has been presumed to be dead for several years.
He was ejected before the crash and was held by the Amal Movement, a Shia group within Lebanon. Amal leader Nabih Berri, now the parliament speaker, said that his group was holding Arad hostage as "a bargaining chip" to facilitate the release of Lebanese prisoners held by Israel since the start of the 1982 Lebanon War and subsequent military occupation in southern Lebanon.
Arad's family received letters and photographs indicating signs of life in 1987.
He was personally held captive by Amal's security chief, Mustafa Dirani, according to the Israeli government's website.
However, in 1988, Dirani split with Amal over "ideological differences" and formed a new Shia group, the Israeli government noted.
This nascent group held Arad for a short time before he is believed to have been handed over to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps for large amounts of money, the government added.
Dirani was captured by Israel in 1994 and stated during questioning that Arad had been transferred to Hezbollah.
UN envoy Gerald Konrad told Israel that Hezbollah officials informed him Arad had died in 1988 following a failed escape attempt.
Then, Hezbollah secretary-general Hassan Nasrallah stated in 2006 that Arad was dead.
Arad was 28 years old at the time of the crash.
He held the rank of Captain at the time, and has been promoted to Lt.-Col. since.
The fighter jet's pilot, Yishai Aviram, was also ejected and was rescued by the IDF following the crash.