Weapons thefts: A gaping hole in the Israeli army

Israel has killed more than 17,000 Palestinians, half of them women and children, in retaliation to the October 7 Hamas blitzkrieg, which left over 1000 Israelis dead.

While Israel’s disproportionate military campaign, which includes reckless bombings of Gaza’s densely populated areas, has drawn rage and condemnation globally, never before has the country’s security establishment come under scrutiny for its failures like it has in the past two months.

One of the most pressing questions remains to be centred around the types of weapons Hamas fighters carried while attacking the Israeli villages next to the Gaza border fence.

The Palestinian resistance fighters used high-grade military weapons and armaments in the surprise attack that shattered the image of the Israeli military as an "invincible army."

In Israel’s military organisation chart, there are 60 military bases across the country – of which, the Southern Command located in a close proximity to Gaza, comprises over 20 military bases, including air, naval and land bases.

The command has drawn controversy on many occasions in the past. Unknown assailants have breached its military bases several times, stealing arms and ammunition from weapon depots.

It’s one of the recurring problems that has plagued the Israeli military. Such thefts have also been reported from the Israeli military bases along the northern Lebanese border.

The million dollar question however remains unresolved – where do these stolen weapons end up? Several state-sanctioned investigations into Israel's ammunition thefts have remained inconclusive.

The needle of suspicion

The most vulnerable weapons depots are located in Tze'elim kibbutz, which is in a close proximity to the Gaza fence. In June 2023, more than 20,000 automatic assault rifles were found missing from one of the military inventories in the area.

Although Israeli authorities nabbed several dozen suspects for another major weapons theft that had taken place in November 2022 from a military base on the occupied Golan Heights, where 70,000 rounds of 5.56mm ammunition and 70 rifle grenades were stolen, the probe however did not prevent future thefts.

Similarly, at the Urban Warfare Training Center again at the Tze'elim kibbutz Army base, a total of 93,000 rounds of 5.56 ammunition were stolen in December 2022. With this amount of stolen ammunition, according to standard military doctrines, a force of 450-500 individuals could engage in uninterrupted combat for 24 hours.

Ammunition theft has been a long-standing problem for the Israeli state. According to a decade-old Haaretz investigation, the Israeli army had lost weapons worth $14 million to thefts in 2012 alone. What makes the ammunition theft alarming for Israel is that many of them have taken place in a close proximity to the Gaza border and that such massive loot has been aided by trucks that somehow managed to enter the Israeli weapon depots.

Many security experts wonder whether such thefts denote a serious security crisis in the Israeli military or they are being deliberately overlooked for short-term material or long-term tactical gains.

Following the June theft, Shin Bet arrested two Israeli soldiers, indicating the potential involvement of insiders in aiding arms dealers and other actors organising such high profile loots.

In fact, at present, the commander of the "Givati Brigade," Brig. Gen. Eliad (Moati) Maor, who is conducting ground operations in Gaza and has suffered losses, was disciplined by the Southern Army Group commander on October 19, 2022, due to the theft of 30,000 rounds of ammunition from the Sde Yeman base belonging to the brigade. For the same incident, a major received a five-day sentence, and the base commander, a lieutenant, was sentenced to 35 days in prison.

The investigation conducted by the Israeli government actually concluded that the theft occurred due to the irresponsible and undisciplined behaviour of the officers at the Sde Yeman military base.

Ammunition thefts are widespread

The investigation into the Golan Heights robbery revealed that the thieves managed to enter and exit the Tsnovar camp without alerting the stationed soldiers.

On February 14, 2020, at least 2,000 rounds of 5.56 ammunition were stolen from the Eliakim military base. The investigation concluded that an Israeli soldier had collaborated with the thieves, providing them with guidance during the Shabbat holiday. As a result, one soldier and two residents of Daliat al Karmel were arrested in connection with the incident.

Even during Israel's ongoing war on Gaza, ammunition thefts continue to occur in Israel. On November 1, two individuals were caught stealing ammunition with a garbage truck from a base near Beersheba.

The Knesset in panic

On January 22, 2018, initiated by Knesset Member Anat Barko of Likud, a discussion took place within the Foreign Affairs and Security Committee. The discussion involved committee members, military representatives, and reserve officers.

The chairman of the committee, Member of Knesset Avi Dichter (Likud), said at the opening of the meeting that "you hear the description from the soldiers and commanders and you can go crazy. The scale of the thefts is amazing."

Dichter added that "We are training units for operations and tomorrow you can find people with problematic abilities in front of them. Israeli military weapons will be on both sides of the barricade. The extent of the phenomenon is incredible. The theft of 33 weapons from the Sde Yemen base is no small thing.”

The discussions in the Knesset about the ongoing ammunition thefts within Israeli military bases and the implication that stolen weapons and ammunition might have ended up in the hands of Palestinian resistance groups, including Hamas, some of whose fighters have been spotted carrying 5.56 rounds that are compatible with M-16 rifles.

In December 2022, the Israeli army claimed to have recovered a large cache of ammunition, including M-16 rifles, after conducting raids in the occupied West Bank.

The discovery led many arms analysts to connect the dots – that stolen Israeli weapons are being smuggled into the occupied West Bank through the “holes in the security fence”.

This lingering issue is wearing down Israeli forces. Non-stop thefts have left a significant impact on the military's psychology, prompting the security leadership to implement controversial policies. For instance, soldiers on a week's holiday are prohibited from taking their weapons home due to the fear that they might be stolen. Simultaneously, soldiers are allowed to take their weapons home for Shabbat, a weekly day off in accordance with the Jewish faith.