When Eini returned home, he was surprised to find several urgent messages   from an unknown number on his answering machine.

"When I phoned this number ," Eini recalled this week, "I heard a great commotion in the background . I said my name  and the soldier girl who  answered , exclaimed "It's Eini- he's alive! He's alive !"

The security services' concerns over Eini were justified: he had been involved in a series of highly sensitive roles  in the Intelligence . He finished his duties  as a lieutenant colonel, and later received a promotion as colonel in the reserves.

After his retirement, Eini embarked  on secret trade with Arab countries. He exported Israeli products in counterfeit European packaging to the Arab World. From tomatoes to cigarettes, from flowers to diamonds, from oil to beer, Eini's varied exports arrived in markets throughout the world as far away as Iraq and Iran.

Eini is in constant touch with Arab traders and businessmen , especially those  who live in Cyprus, where most of the transactions takes place .

Looking back , he recalls , "After what happened to Tennenbaum and from what I have been told by the security services , I can piece together events that ,at the time seemed strange , but not necessarily "terrorist threats"".

Senior security officials  involved in the Tennenbaum affair  claim that the idea to kidnap a senior Israeli civilian , preferably a reserve officer, was formed in the Hizbullah six months earlier, with the backing of the operation co-ordinator between the Hizbullah and Iran, Emad Mornier.

Cais Oubeid was involved in the kidnap of Tennenbaum. Other members of the Hizbullah Intelligence were involved in  attempts to kidnap Eini and various other potential targets .

"From  Hizbullah's point of view , Eini  was ideal" , says  a senior security official. "He was an easy target  for kidnap, because he was in constant contact with Arab traders, regularly visited Arab countries and Cyprus, and his travel habits were well known."

In the two months prior to Tennenbaum's  kidnap, there were three "unusual events", which Eini later recalled during the investigation  by  security  forces.

"I was staying at a hotel in Limassol, Cyprus, when I received a call from reception, to say that someone was waiting for me down in the lobby. Since he didn't give  a name  I was suspicious  that something was not quite right.

"I went downstairs cautiously, to a place where I could see the lobby , but not  be seen myself. I saw two well-built men  with eastern-looking faces. They looked very suspicious to me. I let them wait. After an hour they left.

"During the same visit to Cyprus, a big trader I knew from Beirut, tried to convince me to go  to Beirut, luring me with promises of a very profitable deal there.

But the  tone of his voice concerned me. He told me that  he would arrange  a visa for me in Cyprus , in order to visit Beirut and said that he had access to the right people in authority in Beirut who would allow me into the country and he insisted  that the deal would not be possible without me being present."

"I know you have good intentions", I said, "and I am sure of your good connections with the Authorities, who will allow me to enter Lebanon. The problem is not how to get into Lebanon. The problem is how to get out."

Three months before the Tennenbaum  kidnap, Eini experienced another strange event... "I was waiting for a Cyprus businessman, of Lebanese origin- a true friend, who I could count on - when an attractive blonde woman came up  to me . She knew my name and  said: "Mr Eini, I know you are waiting for friends of yours. But until they arrive, I would like to get to know you. Please don't tell your friends about me. Try to finish your meeting early  and then I'll take you to an unforgettable business party, where you'll have a great time and meet senior Arab  businessmen ."

Diamonds are Forever :

As a result of  a quick check that Eini made with a local security service , he was warned to be careful of this woman because they were suspicious that she had connections with terrorism.

"After the meeting I tried to  avoid her. But the harder I tried , the more she wanted to get close to me and even lured me with sexual promises. It was hard to get rid of her. I changed hotel." But when she turned up  at the  new hotel , Eini decided that it was time to leave Cyprus.

Five days before Tennenbaum's kidnap, Eini and his partner were about to travel to Greece on holiday. Soon after they left home for the airport, his mobile rang, Eini recalls.

"The man on the phone gave his name. I  didn't recognize it, but that is not uncommon in my line of business.He told me that he got my number from a certain business man in Beirut and said that he had heard a lot about my good business reputation in Arab countries.

""I've got a great business opportunity for you that you won't be able to refuse. It involves rough diamonds and gold, through an Armenian, who lives in Beirut." He did not mention his name.

"He explained the nature of the deal to me. "We know that your country's diamond industry needs rough diamonds. We have got a package, which is now in Cyprus , containing  rough diamonds from 3-15 karats, worth $8,000,000 .But the owner of the packet needs money fast , and we can get it for $5,000,000. If you come to us , you'll receive an advance on your commission of $500,000 in cash. And that will just be  the beginning of lots of other big deals we can do together."

Eini is used to receiving business offers at short notice. Sometimes deals need quick decisions, in order to be completed  the same day. But this one sounded too good to be true. Since he was on his way to the airport, he told the man he would call him back when he returned from holiday.

"I thought that first, I could try to find some information about the caller  through our security services. "Eini boarded his plane and went on his holiday.

Five days later, with Eini still on a Greek Island, detached  from all news,  Nassaralah, the Leader of the Hizbullah, arranged a dramatic  press conference, where he announced that his organisation had kidnapped a Colonel from the Israeli Mossad.

There was some confusion in the IDF (Israeli Defence Forces).

Late that evening, special teams were formed to search the army , and especially the reserves , for a missing lieutenant colonel. There are hundreds of lieutenant colonels in the army and each one had to be accounted for. When all the lieutenant colonels  had been accounted for, they turned their attention to colonels. They discovered that some of the army lists were not updated and they had to track men all around the globe.

The IDF special teams , together with Israeli Intelligence  and Mossad, gradually homed in on a few names. They focused their attention  mainly on Y.T. Eini, who they discovered was abroad, but nobody knew where, or for how long.

Late at night , the special team  contacted Ephraim  Lapid, former IDF Spokesman, who was an old friend of Eini, from Intelligence "Unit 8200".

Lapid knew that Eini was planning on going abroad on holiday, but didn't know where. Meanwhile, Eini's name was leaked to some journalists, who also tried to track him  down , without success.

Two days later, when he returned home, he suddenly  realised  that the whole world and his wife was looking for him. He phoned to say he was alive.

A short time after this, Keren, Tennenbaum's daughter, phoned a senior army officer  and told him that her father was missing  and that he might  be the missing colonel. The mystery was solved.

A few days later, Eini underwent a thorough investigation by the Intelligence Official who specialized in Hizbullah.

In the days that followed, reports developed that Hizbullah had planned to kidnap several Israelis, of whom  Eini was one of the prime targets.

After Eini recalled in detail the suspicious events that had happened  on the run up to Tennenbaum's kidnap , he was told by the Intelligence official not to travel to Egypt, Cyprus, Turkey, or any other Middle Eastern country and now it  was clear that Eini was a kidnap target. Big business in Cyprus was the incentive that Hizbullah tried to trap him with.

Two Deals and You're Settled for Life :

Eini was one of the founders of the unit for monitoring foreign transmissions, known as "8200". He founded the base and eventually became the Commander.

After this he moved to the research department and established the unit for information distribution. He was in this role  in October 1973, when he saw information coming in suggesting the possibility  of attack, which was passed on to army HQ, deep underground, in Tel Aviv.

After the war, he held several other top ranks in Intelligence and was responsible  for computerising the research department.

In recent years, Eini has been busy writing .He has just published his book "The Twin Towers" and soon he will publish his new books, "Secret Love" and "Swing Doors", which relates to intelligence affairs  and trade with Arab countries.

"I can understand Tennenbaum", says Eini. "Trade with Arab countries is fascinating and a challenge - something which demands a lot of imagination, daring, and "Chutzpah". But I am very critical of him that despite his army experience , he was not careful enough  and should not have fallen for the temptation."

Eini tells of many temptations which stem from trade with Arab countries. He remembers that before  the withdrawal from Lebanon , he met some Lebanese traders in his office in Tel Aviv. After  finalising business, one of the Lebanese men mentioned quietly, "I have a tonne of cannabis near the border. It is not a problem to get it over. Can you find buyers for it ? You can make a lot of money. Just two deals and you are financially made for life".

Eini politely refused .