Old Israeli tank stolen from base, found in scrapyard

An old Israeli tank that was stolen from a military base in northern Israel was found later in a scrapyard.

1 min read

20 September, 2023

It wasn't the first time an old tank was stolen in Israel in recent months [Getty]

A decommissioned Israeli tank was stolen from a military base, only to be found hours later in a nearby scrapyard, police said Wednesday.

A report was received from the defence ministry "about a tank stolen from an IDF (Israeli Defense Forces) training base near Elyakim junction," police said.

Forces began searching the area in northern Israel and soon enough "found the tank in a scrapyard in the area of Nesher," a nearby town.

Police said they were investigating why and how the tank was stolen.

In #Israel, unknown persons stole a tank from a training base in the north of the country.

In the morning, police found the tank at a scrap metal dump. pic.twitter.com/6e8K6VIy5Q
— NEXTA (@nexta_tv) September 20, 2023

The Israeli army said the tank was a Merkava 2, "decommissioned many years ago".

"The tank was stripped of armament, and its systems do not work," the army said in a statement, noting that it was stationary and used for training in a firing zone accessible to hikers.

It wasn't the first time an old tank was stolen in Israel in recent months.

In February, a tank was stolen from a memorial site, to be used as part of a protest against the government.