The residents and police initially suspected the burglars were from the outside, however according to Ashkelon Police Commander Eitan Gadassi, local thieves may also be responsible.
"We have a suspect, a resident of one of the Nitzan cara-villas," he said. "He has been called in for investigation and will be questioned in the next few days in suspicions of theft."
According to the police, there are apparently more cara-villa residents responsible for the burglaries.
'Residents responsible for security'
Until now the cara-villa site was guarded by a security company hired by the Defense Ministry. However, the security was discontinued, once responsibility for the site was transferred to the Housing Ministry.
Housing Ministry officials claimed the residents themselves bear the responsibility, therefore the ministry is not responsible for guarding the site.
Until a few weeks ago one security guard, posted at the entrance to the site, was responsible for checking all those entering and leaving the area.
Over the past several weeks, a number of mobile homes were broken into - the cara-villas are made from plaster, making the 'job' easy.
Last week Gadassi and Lachish Police Commander Effie Mor met with the residents and discussed the matter.
One resident said, "At night all kinds of suspicious people wander around here. They already broke into a number of houses, and there are thefts almost every evening. We have been used to an unstable security situation, but not burglaries and thefts in our homes."
Police commander: Residents should form community watch
As a solution, Gadassi proposed the residents volunteer for the Civil Guard.
"Some of the residents volunteered in the past in the Erez crossing near where they lived and they can definitely also do it here. We called on them to volunteer and establish a kind of community police force on the site," he said.
As an act of goodwill, the police announced it would post a community police officer on the site during the day, who would assist the residents in dealing with their complaints.
Lachish district officers said the residents' claims are justified.
"It is very easy to break into those caravans, and if there was a decision to have security in the beginning, security should have continued. The Housing Ministry must finance it, as was done so in the past," one official said.