During an operational activity on Sunday evening, officers from the MAGEN unit of the Southern Central Unit of the Israel Police located a vehicle suspected of transporting weapons near the Bedouin town of Ar'arat an-Naqab in the Negev.
Upon noticing the police forces, the driver fled the scene, driving recklessly off-road. Police initiated a pursuit, during which shots were fired at the vehicle’s tires in an attempt to stop it.
During the chase, an M16 rifle was thrown from the vehicle. Shortly afterward, the driver lost control and overturned the vehicle in a self-inflicted crash. A Magen David Adom team dispatched to the scene pronounced the driver dead.
National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir responded: “I back the MAGEN unit officers of the Southern Central Unit who operated in the Bedouin Negev against a weapons criminal. The ‘New Order’ operation that I initiated together with the Police Commissioner was not a one-time action. The officers of the Southern District, along with the district commander and the commissioner, are constantly working against criminals in the Negev. What we did in Tarabin, Laqiya and Tel Sheva - we will do throughout the Negev."
