Israeli soldiers are stealing weapons during their invasion of besieged Gaza and there has been an uptick in the number of troops engaging in the theft of arms including high-explosive hand grenades and anti-tank missiles, according to Israeli broadcaster KAN, raising fears some of the stolen weapons may have ended up in the hands of illegal Jewish settlers.

The KAN channel, operated by the Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation, said there has been "a troubling increase in the phenomenon of weapons and ammunition theft in the Israeli army under the guise of war amid fears that they may also reach armed groups in the West Bank."

KAN quoted Roi Sharon, the military correspondent for the news channel, as saying, "there is actually concern in the Israeli army about soldiers or even civilians stealing high-explosive hand grenades and anti-tank missiles from inside the Gaza Strip or areas where forces are stationed outside it and transferring them to criminal organisations, and from there to terrorist organisations."

Tightening inspection operations

Sharon said that although each grenade and anti-tank missile has a serial number, in war, there is a lot of chaos, and continuous supply operations of weapons where the grenades and missiles are used are not counted.

"This facilitates the process of soldiers stealing grenades and anti-tank missiles and taking them home either as souvenirs or for sale to criminal organisations," he said.

Also, last month, 15 hand grenades were used by criminals within 10 days, which are not old grenades but modern versions used by the army," he added.

In light of fears of these weapons reaching from inside the Green Line (1948 territories) to the occupied West Bank, the Israeli army intends to tighten inspection operations at crossings and checkpoints.

On Tuesday, Israeli media outlets revealed that the Israeli Border Police found three high-explosive hand grenades stolen from the army in the possession of Israeli criminals in the city of Or Akiva near Haifa.

In recent years, the Israeli army has disclosed several incidents of weapons and ammunition theft carried out by its soldiers from within military bases.