Operation Tannenbaum Operation Tannenbaum Operation "Tannenbaum ("Fir Tree"), known earlier as Operation "Grün ("Green"), was a planned but cancelled invasion of Switzerland by Nazi Germany and Italy during World War II. For tactical reasons, Adolf Hitler made repeated assurances before the outbreak of the Second World War that Germany would respect Swiss neutrality in the event of a military conflict in Europe. In February 1937, he announced that "at all times, whatever happens, we will respect the inviolability and neutrality of Switzerland" to the Swiss federal councillor Edmund Schulthess, reiterating this promise shortly before the Nazi invasion of Poland. These were, however,
Elhanan Tannenbaum and is considered a wanted fugitive by the Israeli government. Tannenbaum was released in January 2004 as part of a prisoner swap with Hezbollah. The swap, mediated by Germany, resulted in the exchange of 435 prisoners held by Israel in return for Tannenbaum's release and the return of the bodies of three soldiers killed during an ambush along the Israeli-Lebanese border. Among the 435 people released were Mustafa Dirani and Abdel Karim Obeid. These two individuals were kidnapped, in 1994 and 1989 respectively, for use as bargaining chips in the effort to secure the release of the most famous of