Hezbollah to Israel: Missing airman believed dead
By Laurie Copans

Lebanon’s Hezbollah has told Israel it does not know what happened to an airman missing for more than two decades but it believes he is dead, Israeli officials said Saturday. The report could clear the way for a prisoner swap between the two foes.

Article Continues… (AP via Google)

There have been a few stories about the whereabouts of Ron Arad that have surfaced over the years, obviously the ones that say he’s still alive are the most popular (the most interesting one I found had him as a prisoner in Iran who couldn’t walk; he underwent forced surgery to disable his legs following escape attempts). However, even though I’m on the bandwagon that wants a happy ending, the truth is that none of the terrorist organizations in that part of the world are going to keep a prisoner for that long. If anything, they’d kill him and try to keep the illusion alive in orer to get Israel to release a couple hundred prisoners.

As sad a reality as it is, Ron Arad has probably been dead for a long time.