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Last update - 16:23 12/10/2008 IN DEPTH / The 24 hours that could have saved Gilad Shalit By Amos Harel Tags: Gilad Shalit, Shin Bet  A dispute within the Israel Defense Forces' General Staff over the timing of the arrest of two Hamas operatives delayed the procurement of intelligence that could have prevented the kidnapping of Gilad Shalit, defense sources told Haaretz. Just a few hours after the kidnapping occurred, on June 25, 2006, one of the operatives gave the Shin Bet security service detailed information about the plot. Some IDF officers thus believe that had the arrest not been postponed for 24 hours, this information would have been obtained in time to foil the abduction. A few weeks before the kidnapping, the Shin Bet gave the IDF a general warning about a major attack planned by Hamas and other terrorist organizations along the Gaza-Israel border. Then, slightly more than 24 hours before the abduction, new information came in. Advertisement The daily Maariv reported on Friday that on that night, June 23, the IDF arrested brothers Mustafa and Osama Muammar near the Gazan town of Rafah. The article claimed that Mustafa broke under interrogation on the night of June 24, a few hours before the kidnapping, and gave the Shin Bet detailed information about the plan. The Shin Bet relayed the information, but it got "stuck" somewhere along the way and never reached the soldiers in field. But Haaretz queried five security officials, some very senior, who are well-versed in the affair, and their version of events is different. They said the information Mustafa Muammar gave on Saturday night was fairly general. Only on Sunday - after the abduction had already occurred, and after the Shin Bet had applied "exceptional interrogation methods" - did he break down and reveal the critical details, even though the interrogators did not tell him that the kidnapping had already occurred. The Shin Bet declined to comment. The officers' version of events raises an obvious question: What if the Muammars had been arrested sooner? At that point, a mere nine months after the Israel pullout from Gaza, the IDF was being very cautious about arrests deep inside the Strip. Israeli intelligence had vague information about the Muammars' connection with a planned attack and had decided to arrest them in the hope of learning more, but they lived 1.5 kilometers from the Israeli border, a distance at which the army was reluctant to operate at that time. On the morning of June 22, officers from the Southern Command and the Gaza Division proposed arresting the two that night. Moshe Kaplinsky, then deputy chief of staff, concurred. But the heads of Military Intelligence and the Operations Directorate dissented, saying more preparations were needed. Then-chief of staff Dan Halutz nevertheless okayed the operation for that night, as did then-defense minister Amir Peretz. Later, however, Halutz reversed himself and postponed the arrest by 24 hours, as MI and the Operations Directorate had urged. Thus the Muammars were arrested only on the night of June 23, and their crucial information was not obtained in time. Was this a critical mistake? One officer involved in the decision responded: "That's hindsight. There are a lot of 'ifs' and 'maybes' here ... You have to remember that none of us knew at the time that we were talking about a kidnapping plan, or that Mustafa Muammar was directly involved in it. The General Staff conducted a pertinent discussion about the force's preparedness for the mission. When we decided to postpone it, we could not have know that time was of the essence." Bookmark to del.icio.us   One step closer Labor Party, Kadima sign coalition agreement after 18 hours of discussion. After the clashes Police arrest driver who sparked Acre riots for 'harming religious sensitivities'.   1.   Finger Point Later 05:54  |  Mark of Lewiston 12/10/08   2.   Bah! Incompetence meant it would`ve happened anyway 07:51  |  Joe Sittizen 12/10/08   3.   Don?t talk to Hamas - destroy it! 08:14  |  Jean Van Daem 12/10/08   4.   Incredible 09:54  |  incredulous 12/10/08   5.   Shalit 10:46  |  Linda Spiegel 12/10/08   6.   THE "TRUTH" CAME OUT BY TORTURE 11:37  |  indrajaya 12/10/08   7.   don`t need to torture to know your truth indirya 12:25  |  r 12/10/08   8.   Indrayayayaya 17:27  |  Ibn Musa 12/10/08   9.   In Shallow - Shalit was beyond redemption 05:23  |  Mark Lincoln 13/10/08   10.   Spilled milk ! 10:29  |  Giora Nevo 13/10/08   11.   Makes no sense 22:25  |  rondi 13/10/08

Read & React Sources: Hamas has raised price of Shalit deal in wake of Kuntar release Responses: 63 Police arrest driver who sparked Acre riots for 'harming religious sensitivities' Responses: 136 Don't believe your banker when he says he's sleeping well Responses: 3 Akiva Eldar: Improved living standards won't turn Israel's Arabs into lovers of Jews Responses: 16 More Headlines 17:36 Labor Party, Kadima sign coalition agreement 15:29 Peres in Acre: We have many religions, but one set of laws 21:10 Police arrest driver who sparked Acre riots for 'harming religious sensitivities' 19:34 Sources: Hamas has raised price of Shalit deal in wake of Kuntar release 14:11 Netanyahu to Shas: Don't join Livni, she'll give up Jerusalem 18:52 ANALYSIS / A partnership based on mutual suspicion 18:54 N.Y. synagogues feel holiday pinch as financial crisis wears on congregants 15:23 Israel seals off West Bank ahead of Sukkot holiday 22:20 Egyptian border guards shoot migrant dead at Egypt-Israel border 06:38 Hebrew University makes The Times' list of 100 top schools 13:33 Angry and confused, Acre residents wonder how everyday life will go on 04:58 VIDEO / TASE defies grim forecasts, ends day with moderate losses 11:53 Conspiracy theory faults Jews for Lehman Brothers' collapse 04:37 U.S. tycoon gives David Grossman Torah scroll in son's memory Previous Editions Select Day 12 oct 10 oct 09 oct 08 oct 07 oct 06 oct 05 oct 03 oct 02 oct 01 oct 30 sep 29 sep

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