Police has obtained footage apparently showing a woman desecrating for several hours the grave of an IDF soldier, killed last week in a West Bank raid, Ynet has learned on Sunday from sources familiar with the matter.
It was reported Thursday the grave of 21-year-old First Sgt. Amit Ben Yigal, in the military cemetery in the southern region of Be'er Yaakov, had been vandalized, only days after he was buried.
Security footage apparently caught a female figure at a nearby construction site close to the reported time of the incident and police officials now estimate that the woman, whose identity is known to security forces, will be arrested soon.
The soldier from the Golani Brigade was killed last week when a Palestinian lobbed a large stone at his head during an operation in the town of Ya'bed, near Jenin.
The IDF issued a statement last Thursday saying that excavation marks had been found on the gravesite, just two days after the soldier's funeral.
Ben Yigal’s family was updated immediately and his father arrived at the cemetery accompanied by army officials shortly after.
Military rabbinate representatives also arrived at the scene to make sure that the honor of the fallen had not been desecrated.
Officials believe the incident did not have a nationalist motive.
"In light of the incident, we have decided that the grave will be sealed and Golani soldiers will guard the area,” the IDF Spokesperson's Unit said. "Any attack on the dignity of fallen soldiers must be condemned. The IDF and the police are working to investigate the incident," it added.
"Defense Ministry personnel have been guarding Staff Sergeant Amit Ben Yigal's gravesite ever since we became aware of the incident," read a statement. "The ministry expresses shock and disgust at the act and has been accompanying the Ben Yigal family and providing them with all the necessary support and assistance."
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Policmen securing Be'er Ya'akov cemetery where Staff Sergeant Amit Ben Yigal is buried
(Photo: Nadav Abas)
Security forces are still conducting a manhunt for the rock thrower who killed Ben Yigal when him and his comrades were conducting arrests of four terror suspects in the village of Ya'bed.
As the troops were leaving the village a large rock was hurled off a roof, with the perpetrator apparently waiting for the soldier to look up.
Ben Yigal sustained critical injuries and was evacuated to Rambam Healthcare Campus in Haifa, where he was pronounced dead.