Israeli Mercava Tank Stolen Found In Waste Disposal Site, Two Suspects Arrested

JAKARTA - A tank stolen from an Israeli military base in the northern region of the country was found in a landfill, while the police arrested two suspects.

Israel's Ministry of Defense reported the theft of a tank from a army training base near Eliakim Intersection in northern Israel on Wednesday, police said in a statement.

The tank was later found about 20 kilometers south of the coastal town of Haifa, precisely in a landfill.

"From the initial investigation into the case's condition, the tank was allegedly inactive and was stolen from the scene for reasons being investigated at this stage," said a police statement, quoted by Al Jazeera on September 21.

"After finding the stolen tank, the notice was sent to the Ministry of Defense and the police opened a joint investigation with the Ministry of Defense," the statement continued.

Separately, the Israeli military said in a statement that the stolen tank had a Merkava Mk II chassis that had been deactivated several years ago.

"The bank has no weapons and the system is not functioning," the Israeli military said.

"The bank is placed in a shooting practice area, open to anyone passing by, and used as a stationary vehicle for army exercises," the army said.

"Investigations into the incident continue and a command investigation will also be carried out," the military added.

Meanwhile, The Jerusalem Post reported that two suspects linked to the incident had been arrested.

It is known, prior to the latest incident, Israeli tank theft also occurred last February. At that time, two veteran soldiers stole a tank from the Golan Heights to protest against the government's plan to reshuffle the state's justice system. They were detained about 40 kilimeters from the initial location of the tank, quoted from The National News.