IDF to punish several officers after large ammunition theft at base

The Israel Defense Forces says it will be punishing several officers over the theft of thousands of rounds of ammunition from an army base in southern Israel in October.

Some 30,000 bullets — mostly 5.56-millimeter rounds — were stolen from the Sde Teiman base on October 21.

Eight Bedouin Israeli men were arrested last month over the robbery, and some of the ammunition was recovered.

The IDF wraps up its final probe into the theft, and says the commander of the Givati Brigade, Col. Eliad Maor was formally cautioned by the commander of the Southern Command, Maj. Gen. Eliezer Toledano.

Meanwhile, the commander of the ammunition storage complex, an officer with the rank of major, was sentenced to five days in military jail; the chief security officer of the base, a lieutenant, was dismissed from his position; the commander of the security team during the incident, another lieutenant, is to be jailed for 18 days; and the commander of the security team when the break-in was later identified, also a lieutenant, is sentenced to remain 35 days on base.

Another soldier on the security team, a staff sergeant, is sentenced to remain on his base for 28 days over the theft.

A panel of experts who investigated the case issues a list of recommendations to prevent such thefts from recurring, the IDF adds.