IDF denies operation to return soldier’s remains politically motivated

The IDF denies that the operation to return a soldier’s remains to Israel nearly four decades after he went missing during the First Lebanon War was designed to bolster Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s election campaign.

Earlier, prime ministerial candidate Benny Gantz accused Netanyahu of timing the return of the remains of Sgt. First Class Zachary Baumel to Israel after 37 years to serve his political needs ahead of next week’s Knesset elections and said the premier used it as “political spin.”

The IDF “rejects outright the claims about timing: This is a find after a two-year operation,” says IDF spokesperson Ronen Manelis, without naming Gantz. “There was cooperation here that defies all imagination and the decision was substantive. Any other claim is baseless.”