Abandoned army base (illustration)
Abandoned army base (illustration)Nati Shohat/Flash 90

In a shocking neglect of duty and endangering of soldiers, investigative reporters with Channel 10 found that a former IDF base which was evacuated and abandoned over a year ago was left with classified documents sitting around for anyone to find.

The reporters visited the base, the name of which is banned from publication, where they found that the sign bearing the name of the base still stands in place.

The gates were broken open, making access extremely ease.

"We found all kinds of items there, but what surprised us the most was a pile of classified documents," they reported.

Among the documents that the reporters found were figures on orders of battle (OOB) listing the military structure of divisions and brigades among both active and reserve IDF soldiers, which is highly sensitive data to say the least.

The documents also gave information about IDF forces both actively deployed and engaged in training in the north, which as the channel noted could be a danger of the highest order if it had fallen into enemy hands.

A portion of the documents detailed the regulations guiding the transfer from routine to emergency protocol, potentially providing terrorists with a clear picture of what reactions to expect in planning an attack.

It remains unknown how many people may have entered and potentially seen the extremely sensitive documents in the course of the year since the base was abandoned.

In response to the damning report, the IDF spokesperson unit said in a statement, "the base was emptied over a year ago, and at the end of the transfer searches were conducted to ensure no classified documents were left at the site. However, the matter will be checked."