The IDF reported Monday night that a police chase of a civilian vehicle, apparently stolen, with a suspect in it, ended around 8 PM when the suspected motorist reached the Navatin Air Force Base gate at high speed. The suspect fled from the vehicle which had been stopped by the spikes at the gate and began running inside the base area.
בבסיס האסטרטגי של חיל האוויר נבטים שבנגב נמשך בשעה זו המרדף הרגלי של חיל האוויר והמשטרה אחר עברייני הרכב הבדואים שהצליחו לחדור לבסיס בהמשך למרדף משטרתי. בסיס נבטים הוא בסיס ענק בגודל של עיר. רק שלא יגנבו אפ 35 ויעופו איתו לאיראן. pic.twitter.com/Qb07042s1n
— Or Heller אור הלר (@OrHeller)
Nevatim is a modern airbase the size of a small city, with three runways, constructed as a joint Israeli and US effort as part of the IAF’s redeployment out of its bases in the Sinai that had been returned to Egypt. Since 2003, the base has gradually received more squadrons of F-16s, and in recent years it has become home to Israel’s growing fleet of Lockheed Martin F-35Is.
Not an area where you’d want a Bedouin car thief to mess about.
IDF forces at the base and police forces began pursuing the suspect, with the assistance of the police air unit, ground defense units, Air Force contracts, and scouts.
The IDF stressed that guards are regularly posted around the base assets and that a special monitoring unit was set up for the event. They also stressed that at no time were the base’s security facilities in danger.
Good to know.
No shots were fired in the air to make the fleeing thief stop, but all movement in the base was restricted.
Later that night, the IDF issued an update saying the military and the police located the spot from which the suspect escaped into the night. They identified clear signs on the fence indicating that the suspect had climbed there and got away.
At least they had some clarity.
The IDF said that the incident would be investigated and the necessary lessons would be learned.
May we suggest: Under NO Circumstances Let Unauthorized Bedouin Thieves Break Into an Air Force Base Where We Keep Stealth Warplanes?
This video was released by the Regavim movement last year:
The Regavim Movement issued the following statement regarding last night’s event at the Air Force base in Tzeelim, in the Negev:
“If you ignore a problem when it’s small, you’ll have to deal with it eventually – and by then it may have grown beyond control.
“In the last two weeks alone, the Negev has seen horrific and varied forms of criminal behavior: the shocking sexual assault of a little girl in her home; the break-in at the Israel Air Force base at Sde Teiman that included a stun grenade attack on our soldiers; a string of robberies in Be’er Sheva that were caught on film; a massive ammunition heist; and now, a break-in at the Nevatim base, where Israel’s top-secret aeronautical technology is housed.
“The State of Israel must draw the line, and formulate a comprehensive, all-encompassing and non-negotiable solution to the problem of Bedouin crime in the Negev.”