Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan has seemingly accepted Israel’s offer of help in rescuing some 200 schoolgirls captured in April by members of the Islamist terror organization Boko Haram.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office gave no details of its proposed assistance but Jonathan said Netanyahu offered during a phone conversation to send a team of counter-terrorism experts…
“Nigeria would be pleased to have Israel’s globally acknowledged anti-terrorism expertise deployed to support its ongoing operations,” said a statement from State House in Abuja.
The nature of the Israeli help has not been made public, with a statement merely mentioning that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told Jonathan, “We are ready to help in finding the girls and fighting the cruel terrorism inflicted on you.” According to one report, Israelis are already on the ground in Nigeria assisting.
Former Head of Israel’s Counter-Terrorism Bureau Nitzan Nuriel told The Tower there are two key areas where Israeli experience can be of particular use.
“The first is physical in terms of searches, supplying surveillance and listening equipment and helping in the search, gathering eyewitness accounts because that is similar to searches for missing soldiers.
”Second, is teaching the forces what to do: how to search, how to question eyewitnesses and so on.”
Israel’s famed counter-terrorism expertise arguably had its finest hour during Operation Entebbe in Uganda in 1976.
Since then countries and companies around the world have turned to Israeli intelligence agencies and private consultancy firms when beset by crises.
When Ingrid Betancourt and 14 others were freed from FARC captivity in 2008, a Colombian politician mentioned how the rescue operation was “a perfect mission,” which “maybe only the Israelis…their wonderful commandos may be reminiscent of the mission that took place here.”
While the Israeli role in the rescue was never formally made public, it is widely believed several senior Israel Defense Forces officers were in Colombia at the time, working closely with Bogota to ensure the success of the mission.
In September 2013, Israel took “the leading role” in aiding Kenyan forces when Islamists attacked the Westgate Mall in Nairobi. There was speculation that Israeli nationals were among the commandos inside the complex trying to bring the hostage crisis to a conclusion.
[Photo: Sskaswa / Wiki Commons]