Author: Josef Hufelschulte and Gad Shimron, Tel Aviv

The Secret Mission of German Mediator Bernd Schmidbauer in Hezbollah Territory A grey bungalow in Muslim West Beirut sets the stage for a high-stakes negotiation between German meditator Bernd Schmidbauer and Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah. The mission: uncover the fate of Israeli military pilot Ron Arad, missing since 1986. Bernd Schmidbauer (photo taken in 1995) leveraged the German Federal Republic’s good contacts in the Arab world Photo: Ludwig Wegmann The negotiation, shrouded in secrecy, was initiated by Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, seeking German assistance due to their favorable Arab ties. As the story unfolds, Schmidbauer meets Nasrallah in a…