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Two guns stolen from soldiers
Two soldiers were sleeping in dwellings when unidentified individuals broke in and stole their weapons using a handgun and knives
Efrat Weiss
Unidentified individuals broke into the settlement of Bat-Ein and succeeded in stealing guns from two soldiers sleeping in the area, as other soldiers guarded the settlement.
The settlement of Bat-Eyn in Gush Etzion was being guarded by soldiers who were circling the settlement, which is not fenced off, while other soldiers slept. The thieves managed to reach the first caravan in which the soldiers slept, broke into the room, threatened the soldiers with pistols and knives, and took the guns with them.
The soldiers said that the intruders spoke Arabic to one another, but when speaking to the soldiers, they spoke Hebrew. After threatening them, the intruders fled the scene.
After the incident, Central Command Chief Yair Naveh ordered an investigations committee, to be headed by Colonel Yaron Boyam.
Military Police is also investigating the incident, and the intrusion is believed to have been motivated by criminal, rather than nationalist grounds.
'Serious incident'
Chief of Staff Dan Halutz said he viewed the incident with great severity and authorized Major General Naveh's recommendation.
In general Military Police is encountering difficulties in retrieving stolen weapons. In the last five years, less than half of stolen arms have been returned, including heavy machine guns.
Two weeks ago, the Military Criminal Investigation Division succeeded in cracking the theft of 40 weapons from IDF base three months ago. Police arrested five suspects, and 12 weapons were retrieved. Interrogators are still trying locate the hiding place of the remaining weapons.
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