On a tour of the vandalized Ovdat archaeological site, Public Security Minister Yitzchak Aharanovich said that Israel would "deal harshly" with the vandals that caused irreparable damage to an important cultural and historical site. Two suspects from a neighboring Bedouin village are being held as suspects, one of them a security guard at the national park, which is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

"We will not accept this behavior quietly, and we will prosecute the culprits to the full extent of the law," Aharonovich said. Despite whatever complaints the local Bedouin may have about demolitions of illegally built structures in their village – a possible motive for the vandalism that Aharanovich said police were investigating – the minister said that "whoever violates the law will be punished."