Despite the hot weather, an ice cream truck investigated in Netanya on Tuesday was not transporting ice cream to bathers on the beach, but Palestinians illegally present in Israel.
Netanya police carried out routine checks in the city's southern neighborhoods. "We got to Ramat Poleg beach, where we saw an ice cream truck parked near the restaurant on the beach," Community Officer Avinoam Shoshan said. "I know this beach well, and know there isn't an ice cream truck there usually. We observed the truck, and saw people going into the vehicle."
The vehicle and the activity around it raised the suspicions of the police. "We decided to check it out from close up," Shoshan said.
"We knocked on the vehicle, but nobody opened it. We continued until finally the door was opened and people began to exit – not one or two, but 14, one after the other. Upon investigation, we saw that the vehicle's storage area had been turned into a big bedroom, for 14 people."
Outside: An ordinary ice cream truck (Photo: Idan Ben Ami, Sharon Police)
Further checks revealed that all 14 are Palestinians who are in Israel illegally. Some of them have a criminal past, some are not permitted to enter at all. But most surprising was the discovery of youths of 13 and 14-years-old.
Some claimed they are in Israel to work and even provided the telephone of their employer. The police were unable to locate the employer and are investigating the possibility that this is a criminal group.
"All the suspects have been arrested and taken for questioning," Shoshan said. "Now we are trying to locate the owners of the vehicle."