JERUSALEM (JTA) — Hezbollah returned to Israel a citizen who had crossed the northern border into Lebanon.
Oleg Gammerman, 55, of Jerusalem, was returned to Israel on Friday by United Nations peacekeeping forces following negotiations involving the Israel Defense Forces, Lebanese security forces and Hezbollah, which Israel and others label a terrorist group.
Lebanese military forces had captured Gammerman, who reportedly is emotionally unstable and has a history of mental illness, on Thursday after he climbed the border fence into Lebanon, according to reports. He had been declared missing from his home the previous day.
The IDF reportedly questioned Gammerman before he was released to his family.
It is illegal for Israeli citizens to enter the territory of an enemy country, which includes Lebanon, with which Israel is still in a state of war.
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