Israeli teen charged with buying stolen IDF explosives

Prosecutors file an indictment against an Israeli teenager for allegedly purchasing explosive materials from a soldier who stole the equipment during his military service.

According to the indictment, a soldier serving in the Combat Engineering Corps stole around half a kilogram of explosives and other materials used to make a bomb from a military bombing range.

The soldier — identified only by his Hebrew initials, “Bet Bet” — told his comrade “Aleph Aleph” about the stolen goods and asked him to find out how much they were worth.

Aleph Aleph later told Bet Bet that his “partner” Shalev Shaul, 19, from the southern coastal city of Ashkelon, was interested in purchasing the explosives, the indictment read.

The trio met up in December in Tel Aviv, and the explosives were sold to Shaul for NIS 2,000 ($580).

Bet Bet and Shaul then drove toward Ashkelon with the explosives in the trunk of the car, but were stopped on the Route 4 highway by police who were tipped off about the sale.

Shaul is charged with various weapons offenses, and the two Combat Engineering soldiers are to face charges in the military.