On April 13, Israeli police received a report about a break-in at the Mishmar HaNegev military base located in the northern fringe of the Negev desert in Israel.
The report also noted that there was a confrontation between two of the suspects and a military guard; the suspects tried to steal his personal weapon before fleeing the scene.
Although details are unclear, one of the suspects was armed with a wire cutter and a knife, according to a Jerusalem Post report published last month. A suspect reportedly stabbed one of the soldiers at the scene, and the soldier suffered a minor injury to his arm.
During the ensuing investigation, four suspects were arrested: a 19-year-old IDF soldier who lives in the city of Rahat in the Southern District of Israel, his 38-year-old relative and two Palestinians who are residents of the town of Idhna in the southern West Bank.
According to the Jerusalem Post, the IDF soldier is believed to have filmed the area around the base and shared photos with the other suspects to devise a plan for stealing the weapons. The 38-year-old suspect is believed to have connected the IDF soldier with the two Palestinian men and to have smuggled them out of Idhna and helped them enter Israel without the required permits. He was also the driver of the getaway vehicle in the robbery attempt, the Post reported.
Indictments against the four suspects are expected to be filed Tuesday.
