A serious indictment was filed today (Wednesday) in the Beersheba District Court against Wasaf Abu Amar, 28, a resident of Lakiya, exposing what prosecutors describe as a troubling security failure at an Israel Defense Forces outpost near Kibbutz Kerem Shalom.
Abu Amar is accused of infiltrating the tank staging area, dismantling powerful weapons from a tank, and escaping the scene.
According to the indictment, earlier this month the defendant conspired with another individual to steal weapons from the base. Around midnight, the two arrived at the site, and Abu Amar proceeded on foot toward the tank area.
He allegedly climbed onto a tank marked with the Hebrew letter “Gimel" and removed a heavy Browning machine gun from it. He then returned with the weapon to the location where his accomplice had been waiting, only to discover that the vehicle had already left.
Abu Amar reportedly hid the machine gun in an open area, returned to the military post, and asked soldiers for a phone call so he could arrange transportation home. The soldiers, who became suspicious of him but were unaware of the theft from the tank, called a police patrol that assisted him in contacting a relative, who picked him up and drove him back to Lakiya.
According to the charges, Abu Amar did not give up. At around 4:00 a.m., he allegedly returned to the scene in a Toyota vehicle, retrieved the weapon from its hiding place, and transported it to Lakiya, where he concealed it at a friend’s home.
In an attempt to obstruct the investigation, he allegedly smashed both of his cellular phones to prevent investigators from accessing evidence. Three days later, the machine gun was turned over to security forces.
The indictment charges the defendant with theft, illegal possession and transportation of weapons, unlawful firearms possession, and obstruction of justice.