A severe security breach was discovered during a surprise inspection at the Tel Nof Airbase last November, a document published by the Kol Hayehudi news website reveals.
The inspection found that a project officer had sent a detailed aerial photograph map of the base to an Arab worker who did not have security clearance. The map was marked to show the houses where the families of carrier officers and pilots reside and noted the names of the residents and the locations.
The worker entered the base together with another Arab worker, he too without security clearance, with the permission of the base commander. According to the report, the two walked around the base freely, unaccompanied.
However, the incident did not end with that. Last January, Arab workers with security clearance who were working at the Hatzerim Airbase attempted to convince a soldier to sell them his gun for 30 thousand shekels. The soldier refused and alerted his commanders.
At a recent IDF committee meeting convened to suspend civilian service providers, additional information was revealed about severe failures in the security systems at sensitive bases. Among other things, it was found that workers entered bases using forged documents, sneaked workers in using vehicles, photographed classified items, used phones that were brought in in violation of procedures, and even counterfeited inspection stickers so they could have free movement with illegal equipment.
It also found that one of the workers brought a device to disrupt entry inspections, and there were instances of military equipment being stolen from storage containers on the base.
Lieutenant Colonel Adi Berkowitz, who investigated the incidents, wrote that she found a "severe situation and substantial gaps in the implementation of security policies on IDF bases. These incidents are a red flag and need to be dealt with immediately. Enforcement must be ensured, and those responsible for outstanding incidents must face punishment and disciplinary action.
In light of the incidents, the IDF has begun suspending service providers who participated in the incidents.