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Photo: Israel Police
The stolen M-16s
Photo: Israel Police

Givati Brigade commander to be reprimanded after mass M-16 theft

Special inquiry commission recommending reprimand of commanders presiding over base at the time also suggests transforming protocols regarding entrance of contractors working in IDF bases.

The IDF has completed its inquiry into the theft of 33 M-16 rifles from the Givati Brigade's Sde Teiman base in the southern region some three months ago, concluding that the commanders presiding over the base at the time should be reprimanded. 

 

 

The commission of inquiry decided the chief of general staff should censure the outgoing commander of the Givati Brigade, Col. Yaron Finkelman, as well as the outgoing deputy commander, Col. Yehuda Wach.

 

Some of the M-16 rifles recovered after the theft (Photo: Israel Police) (Photo: Israel Police)
Some of the M-16 rifles recovered after the theft (Photo: Israel Police)

 

Pursuant to the committee's further recommendations, a staff officer carrying the rank of major will be rebuked by OC Southern Command whereas two additional staff officers were reprimanded by the Brigade Commander. Sde Teiman's base commander, also a major, was dismissed from duty.

 

The inquiry found that the Givati Brigade had prepared for a scenario in which a break-in was orchestrated by persons from outside the base takes place, but failed to prepare to prevent theft committed by those already inside. The commission's inquiry also shows that on the same day on which the theft took place, base employees let others into the base believing they were contract service workers.

 

Having successfully bypassed the base's security checks, the thieves sawed off the armory's locks, broke in and stole the weapons. After doing so, they placed the locks back in place and painted them over in order to cover up traces of their crime.

 

A joint operation by the Military Police, Israel Police and Shin Bet teams led to the arrest of those involved in the break-in, who were identified as brothers Lior and Avishai Itach. The two are Be'er Sheva residents with prior criminal records and were taken into custody on suspicion of breaking into the base and then stealing and selling the rifles. Several days later they were indicted by the Southern District Attorney's Office.

 

Brothers Lior and Avishai Itach (Photo: Haim Horenstein) (Photo: Haim Horenstein)
Brothers Lior and Avishai Itach (Photo: Haim Horenstein)
 

 

Also charged were Alaa Masri of Kfar Qara, and Saied Masarwa and Hikmat Malham from the village of Arara, the latter being relatives of Nashat Malham, who carried out a deadly terror attack in Tel Aviv's busy Dizengoff Street on New Year's Day last year, killing two Israelis and wounding several others.

 

Police investigators have discovered one of the Itach brothers did work as an external contractor in the base on remodeling the armory, enabling him to use his position to enter the base without suspicion. After stealing the weapons, the two brothers sold them to criminal organizations in the north and south.

 

Photo: Police Spokesperson's Unit
Photo: Police Spokesperson's Unit

Each M-16 rifle sold in the south bagged the thieves between NIS 30,000 and NIS 40,000, while those traded in the northern district to criminal outfits netted as much as NIS 60,000.

 

Of the 33 stolen weapons, 14 have thus far been recovered, along with thousands of bullets, magazines and other army equipment such as flak jackets, laser pointers and more.

 

In addition, a raid on the suspects' homes turned up a large quantity of drugs, worth NIS 200,000, a million shekels in cash and several vehicles.

 

Following the recommendations made by the commission of inquiry, new practices for employing contractors on IDF bases will be implemented. Renovating base armories has created a situation in which workers whose entrance to the base wasn't properly vetted were able to gain access to the weapons depots, and then bring in criminal elements completely unsupervised.

 

Photo: Police Spokesperson's Unit
Photo: Police Spokesperson's Unit

 

Immediately after the discovery of the theft, new directives were issued, mandating that all work carried out on base first receive appropriate approval based on the nature of the task, while workers on classified bases will be much more thoroughly vetted.

 

In addition, a special discussion will be held with the Deputy Chief of Staff, Maj. Gen. Aviv Kochavi, regarding the increased security of bases and bunkers. Allocation of close to NIS 50 million over the next two years will be taken into consideration during the talks, with the intention of increasing security and installing special security measures. The manner in which workers are admitted into IDF bases every morning will also be changed.

 


פרסום ראשון: 08.21.17, 12:50
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