https://sputnikglobe.com/20230920/israeli-police-make-arrests-after-thieves-steal-idf-tank-stash-it-in-junkyard-1113532918.html
Israeli Police Make Arrests After Thieves Steal IDF Tank, Stash It in Junkyard
Israeli Police Make Arrests After Thieves Steal IDF Tank, Stash It in Junkyard
Sputnik International
The Merkava series of main battle tanks makes up the backbone of the Israel Defense Forces’ heavy armored component, and has been used extensively in nearly all of Israel’s ground wars against neighbors since the 1980s.
2023-09-20T13:52+0000
2023-09-20T13:52+0000
2023-09-20T14:01+0000
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Israeli police made two arrests Wednesday for the theft of a decommissioned IDF main battle tank from a military firing range and its stashing in a nearby junkyard.The Merkava Mark II was found in a in a scrapyard near Nesher, a suburb of the northern Israeli coastal city of Haifa, on Wednesday, about 20 km from where it was taken.The Israeli Defense Ministry reported the theft to police, which was said to have taken place overnight between Tuesday and Wednesday, with the Coastal District Police locating the missing tank in short order. Police, the IDF’s Military Police Investigations Unit, and IDF command have initiated probes into the incident.The reason for the theft remains unknown, although some Israeli media suspect the thieves planned to melt down the 62-ton armored behemoth for scrap metal.According to the IDF, the stolen Merkava was just a “shell,” and the tank had been “deactivated many years ago” and contained no armaments or other advanced onboard systems. The MBT was reportedly used in training.This week’s tank theft isn’t the first of the year for Israel. In February, a group of IDF veterans made off with a relic Sho’t MBT, an Israeli Centurion variant, from a memorial to the 1973 Arab-Israeli War, planning to use it to protest the Netanyahu government’s judicial reforms. Days later, the same group also took an old Bren armored personnel carrier for the same purpose. The vets were detained by police, but said they had permission to use the vehicles, which were later returned.The Mark II was equipped with a 105 mm main gun and 7.62 mm machine guns, anti-tank and anti-rocket defenses, thermal optics, and modular composite armor (on its final modification, the Mark IID). The IDF has repurposed some of its Mark IIs as armored personnel carriers, with the final tanks of the series retired from service in 2016.
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Israeli Police Make Arrests After Thieves Steal IDF Tank, Stash It in Junkyard
13:52 GMT 20.09.2023 (Updated: 14:01 GMT 20.09.2023) The Merkava series of main battle tanks makes up the backbone of the Israel Defense Forces’ heavy armored component, and has been used extensively in nearly all of Israel’s ground wars against neighbors since the 1980s.
Israeli police made two arrests Wednesday for the theft of a decommissioned IDF main battle tank from a military firing range and its stashing in a nearby junkyard.
The Merkava Mark II was found in a in a scrapyard near Nesher, a suburb of the northern Israeli coastal city of Haifa, on Wednesday, about 20 km from where it was taken.
The Israeli Defense Ministry reported the theft to police, which was said to have taken place overnight between Tuesday and Wednesday, with the Coastal District Police locating the missing tank in short order. Police, the IDF’s Military Police Investigations Unit, and IDF command have initiated probes into the incident.
The reason for the theft remains unknown, although some Israeli media suspect the thieves planned to melt down the 62-ton armored behemoth for scrap metal.
According to the IDF, the stolen Merkava was just a “shell,” and the tank had been “deactivated many years ago” and contained no armaments or other advanced onboard systems. The MBT was reportedly used in training.
“The tank was situated in a firing area that’s open to any passerby, and was used as a stationary vehicle for soldiers’ exercises,” the IDF and the Israeli Defense Ministry said in a joint statement.
20 September 2023, 04:13 GMT
This week’s tank theft isn’t the first of the year for Israel. In February, a group of IDF veterans
made off with a relic Sho’t MBT, an Israeli Centurion variant, from a memorial to the 1973 Arab-Israeli War, planning to use it to protest the Netanyahu government’s judicial reforms. Days later, the same group also
took an old Bren armored personnel carrier for the same purpose. The vets were detained by police, but said they had permission to use the vehicles, which were later returned.
The Merkava series of main battle tanks came about in 1979 with the introduction of the Merkava Mark I. The Mark II like the one stolen this week began to be introduced in 1983, and underwent several modifications before its replacement by the Mark III, which was produced between 1989 and 2003.
The Mark II was equipped with a 105 mm main gun and 7.62 mm machine guns, anti-tank and anti-rocket defenses, thermal optics, and modular composite armor (on its final modification, the Mark IID). The IDF has repurposed some of its Mark IIs as armored personnel carriers, with the final tanks of the series retired from service in 2016.
