A tank was stolen overnight (between Tuesday and Wednesday) from an IDF training base near the Elyakim Interchange in northern Israel. Israel Police have opened an investigation together with the Military Police Investigations Unit, and two suspects are in custody.
A representative of the Ministry of Defense reported the robbery to the police, and a short time later, officers from the Costal District Police located the tank in a junkyard in Nesher, near Haifa.
Initial investigations found that the tank is not active and it was stolen for reasons that are currently being investigated.
The Ministry of Defense stated that it was "the shell of a Merkava Mark II tank which was deactivated many years ago. The tank is without armaments, and its systems do not work. The tank was placed in a firing range, which was open to hikers, and was used as a stationary tool for military training. The tank was returned to the defense establishment. The investigation into the incident continues, and there is also a command inquiry.
Several months ago, a tank from the Yom Kippur War was stolen from the Tel Saki battlefield site in the Golan Heights was taken on Thursday to be displayed with a copy of Israel's Declaration of Independence on it at a protest by "1973 Veterans Against the Judicial Reform".
The tank was intended to join a procession of vehicles from the Benot Yaakov bridge to Degania. The police stopped the tank carrier carrying the tank near Kibbutz Gadot.
The search for the tank began when residents noticed that the tank had disappeared.
During the investigation, police and local authorities realized that the tank was taken without permission by the protest leaders, veterans of the 1973 war.