The theft of the ammunition from Camp Znover last weekend is no longer theft. It is a watershed. Not only because of the amount of ammunition that was stolen, but because Israel cannot continue to treat the theft of weapons and the trade in ammunition as a fateful decision.
Last year, six security prisoners escaped from Gilboa prison.
This was not the first escape of its kind;
Prisoners have also escaped in the past, including security prisoners.
Nevertheless, this time it was decided to proceed differently: the Minister of Internal Security, Amr Bar-Lev, ordered the establishment of a government inspection committee, which was given extensive powers.
The goal was not to butt heads (although this may certainly be a result of her work), but to ensure that the correct systemic decisions are made to prevent similar events in the future.
In recent years, there have been quite a few incidents of theft of ammunition from IDF camps.
In some cases, the thieves took advantage of carelessness or a lack of security measures, in others it turned out that they were helped or ignored from the inside.
Following them, the IDF took quite a few measures in an attempt to fight the phenomenon and reduce its dimensions, but in the test of the result - its success was partial and lower than expected.
Dangerous harmony
Take, for example, the Znover camp in the Golan.
Just last year, a lot of money and additional measures were invested in it to make sure that no money was stolen from it. Security measures were installed, a vehicle was purchased for patrols and new security procedures were established.
Camp Znover after the break-in and the theft of the ammunition, photo: Eyal Margolin-Gini
The thieves were probably less impressed by this move;
With very little effort, they managed to steal an amount of illegal cash over the weekend that is greater than all the police seizures of the past year.
As in the past, the stolen weapons flow mostly to the Arab sector.
Some of it is used by criminal elements and some is transferred to YOS and used there by terrorist elements. Together with the huge amounts of illegal drugs that are smuggled into Israel through the borders, a threat has accumulated in YOS and on the Arab street, the significance of which is difficult to exaggerate in every possible aspect: in the worlds of protection and liquidation of accounts, and in the worlds of attacks - two worlds who live among themselves in perfect and dangerous harmony.
Israel invests a tremendous effort in thwarting, curbing and locating illegal weapons.
This is true in the Jewish state, and it is true in the domestic arena. But at the same time, and there is no nice or pleasant way to say this, in her carelessness she is arming herself with her criminal rivals and her terrorist enemies. It is an absolute dream, and it is time to stop it.
A few weeks ago, following the theft of IEDs from the Sade Yemen camp in the south, the IDF established an inspection committee.
On Saturday, following the theft from the Znovar camp, another, separate inspection committee was established.
Both committees are composed of excellent people, but it is worth wondering if two separate committees are needed for one common problem, and more than that - if the IDF is the right party to examine itself, after for years it has failed in its efforts to solve the problem.
Unfortunately, the answer to this is no.
Therefore, just like the Shin Bet and the escape from Gilboa prison, the IDF now needs outside eyes to help it deal with the issue, which has become too big.
In any case, the issue of IDF theft has long been not a military problem but a national problem, which requires national solutions: from tightening the cooperation between all the parties (the army, the Shin Bet and the Israel Police), through increasing enforcement and punishment (together with the Ministry of Justice and the legal system) to Increasing deterrence (through proactive activity that will turn the illegal thieves and illegal dealers from the persecuted to the persecuted).
convey a discouraging message
For this to happen, a decision by the political level and a clear directive to the security forces is required.
One can take as a case study the village of Tuba-Zangrieh, from where the weapons thieves who operated in the Znovar camp apparently came, and where a host of other elements are operating that are responsible for a long series of criminal acts in recent years.
A curfew must be imposed on the village to be enforced by military forces, hundreds of policemen must be brought into it and go from house to house to arrest criminals and collect illegal immigrants.
A police checkpoint at the entrance to the village of Tuba Zangaria (archive), photo: Eyal Margolin / Gini
It may not be photographed well and cause an outcry, but the deterrent message that will be conveyed will be clear, and if it is not fully understood - it will be possible to replicate it in other settlements.
Just as the war on terror cannot be sustained only through defense, the fight against illegal weapons must also be offensive.
For those who claim that this is the case, it is recommended to compare the amount of weapons seized with that which is stolen and smuggled.
In every parameter, Israel is in a dangerous deficit, which must be reduced - and immediately.
were we wrong
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