Police announced Sunday that they had arrested a resident of Rahat suspected of stealing an all-terrain vehicle (ATV) from the home of Yossi Tahar, a commander in an operational unit of the Shin Bet security agency who was killed fighting terrorists near Kibbutz Mefalsim on October 7, 2023. The ATV was located in Rahat and returned to the family's home in Moshav Bitzaron in southern Israel.
"Upon receiving the report, officers from the Kiryat Malakhi police station launched efforts to locate the stolen vehicles," police said in a statement. "During the night, in a joint operation involving Kiryat Malakhi police officers, the Etgar unit and officers from the Southern Border Police's Dekel investigative unit in Rahat, the stolen ATV was located. The suspect, a Rahat resident, was arrested and transferred for further investigation. The stolen ATV was seized and returned to its owners."
Yossi Tahar
(Photo: Courtesy of the family)
In addition to the ATV, the family reported over the weekend that thieves had stolen a golf cart, a dirt bike and additional riding equipment. This was the second time burglars had entered the family's yard, with similar equipment stolen during the previous break-in.
Liat Shor, Tahar's widow, said Saturday: "For us, it's not 'just equipment.' It's the children's connection to their father and a way of keeping his memory alive."
"One of the children told me, 'I miss Dad. I want to ride a motorcycle because it reminds me of him.' He promised the children that they would have motorcycles and that they would ride them," she added. "This is how our family commemorates him. I've installed a security system throughout the house, and it's frightening after October 7. They entered the yard and wandered around for 45 minutes."
Additional vehicles stolen from the Tahar family home
Tahar, a Shin Bet officer whose photograph remains barred from publication, was killed on October 7 while defending Kibbutz Mefalsim from terrorists. His father, Eliyahu Tahar, previously described the events leading to his death.
"On that Black Saturday, Yossi was called away from home," his father recalled. "He was supposed to manage the command post and not go out into the field, but it turned out that one of the fighters had been seriously wounded. After speaking with the wounded man, who was already in very serious condition, Yossi went to him, treated him and evacuated him by helicopter. Thankfully, the man survived."
"Yossi realized that terrorists were heading toward Kibbutz Mefalsim, so he gathered several fighters and they set out together. Along the way, they took out terrorists traveling in two pickup trucks, went down into the trenches and encountered two terrorists who thought he was one of their own. He killed them, took their radio and passed information to Shin Bet headquarters. He also killed terrorists at the kibbutz gate. Yossi told his fellow fighters, 'Not a single resident of Mefalsim will die,' and that's what happened."
Tahar left behind his wife and four children. He was named after his uncle, Lt. Col. Yossi Tahar, an operations officer in the Paratroopers Brigade who was killed approximately 42 years ago during Operation Tziltzal, an operation against terrorist strongholds in Lebanon.
Tragedy struck the Tahar family again in 2001, when Yossi's brother, Sgt. Roi Tahar, was killed in an accident while serving in the Nahal Brigade.