PNN – Weapon theft in the occupied territories has become a dangerous and worrying phenomenon on a large scale, and the Zionist military, in addition to looting the property of the Lebanese and Palestinian people, also loots the Zionist barracks.
According to the report of Pakistan News Network, citing Al Jazeera, the Zionist security forces have arrested several people, including two Israeli soldiers, in recent days on charges of stealing weapons from Tel Aviv army bases. This is the latest development in the widespread incidents of weapons theft from the Zionist military bases, which have become a frequent phenomenon in recent years.
In its article, Al Jazeera answered several questions about this phenomenon and wrote that, according to Zionist media reports, the detainees were involved in at least four theft incidents that occurred in the past few weeks and were able to transport stolen weapons from Israeli military bases to unspecified domestic destinations.
How much weapons are stolen?
Data from the Israeli military police investigation shows that army depots have become something of an open-air store for illegal weapons. The Israeli army has recorded about 200 major thefts from its military bases in the last 10 years, an average of 20 major thefts per year.
Israeli officials have documented incidents in recent years between 2024 and 2026, the most notable of which are the theft of 30,000 rounds of ammunition from the Sadi Timan base in the south and 70,000 rounds of ammunition from military bases in the north and the occupied Golan Heights. The total amount of ammunition stolen from army barracks now exceeds 100,000 rounds.
The thefts are not limited to light weapons such as rifles and pistols and their ammunition, but also include deadly weapons such as anti-tank missiles, mortars, advanced defense systems for ground forces, machine guns and grenades, and advanced night vision devices, with the market for stolen items estimated to be worth millions of dollars annually.
Perpetrators of the theft of weapons from Israeli military bases
Internal investigations show that what is happening is an internal betrayal and that the theft of weapons from Israeli military bases and barracks is being carried out by soldiers and officers or with their cooperation, professionally and with prior coordination.
In 2026, investigations revealed the involvement of two Israeli soldiers from combat units in four major robberies, and they were arrested along with a group of others on Saturday, May 9. In late April, the Israeli military police arrested two female Zionist soldiers and charged them with criminal charges of stealing weapons and ammunition from a military base in the Negev region.
Why do Israeli soldiers steal weapons?
Financial temptation is the main motivation for these thefts, with the price of an M16 rifle, for example, reaching 100,000 shekels on the black market. Therefore, some soldiers, especially those working in logistics units and non-commissioned officers with access to warehouses, are encouraged to steal weapons and sell them.
According to the website “i24”, the price of stolen automatic weapons, grenades and portable rockets has doubled in recent years since the start of the Israeli war on the Gaza Strip and Lebanon, making theft a quick way for soldiers to get rich or pay off debts.
Who gets the stolen weapons?
Media reports indicate that the majority of the weapons stolen from Israeli army barracks end up in the hands of several groups, most notably organized crime gangs in Israel. Some of these weapons also end up in the hands of the Palestinian resistance.
In April 2025, Israeli Channel 12 TV announced that a secret investigation in cooperation with the military police had led to the arrest of reservists suspected of stealing dozens of grenades from a military base in the south of the occupied territories and selling them to various parties in exchange for thousands of shekels.
Also, a report published by the Israeli channel “Kan” in May 2024 indicated that about 15 grenades stolen from the Israeli army were used in various criminal incidents in the occupied territories in the same month. The Israeli security services believe that the theft of weapons and ammunition from military bases is one of the sources of equipping Palestinian resistance groups in the West Bank, especially in the governorates of Nablus and Jenin. Of course, these groups also obtain the desired weapons through other methods, including smuggling weapons and ammunition through the borders with Egypt, Jordan and Lebanon.
The Zionist newspaper “The Jerusalem Post” also reported that the Israeli army has been suffering from weapons theft from its bases throughout the occupied territories, especially in the Negev, for years. According to the newspaper, many of the weapons stolen in recent years were obtained by the military in cooperation with civilian contractors working at Israeli military bases.