Palestinian crashes stolen car into IDF base, arrested after chase
One person, identified as soldier, wounded in incident; police say suspect was in Israel illegally, incident not thought to be terror-related
A Palestinian man from Jenin stole a vehicle from inside Israel and crashed it into a checkpoint next to a military base, wounding one person, before being arrested, authorities said Tuesday morning.
The suspect, described as being in his 20s, was in Israel illegally, according to police.
Authorities said the man stole was driving a car he had stolen from the Tel Aviv area when he crashed it into a barrier next to the Tzrifin Israel Defense Forces base, a large military installation just to the east of Rishon Lezion.
The driver was eventually apprehended in northern Ramle following a short pursuit, police said.
Hebrew media reports said the IDF identified the wounded man as a soldier, who was hospitalized with unspecified injuries. His condition was not known.
The suspect crashed through the checkpoint and drove inside the base for several minutes before returning to the checkpoint and hitting the soldier, according to the reports.
Police did not describe the incident as an attempted ramming attack or suspected terror, but identified the suspect as a resident of Jenin who was in Israel without a permit.
The suspect is slated to appear later Tuesday in court where police will request his remand be extended.
According to theft prevention firm Ituran, 2024 saw an 11 percent jump in the number of car thefts inside Israel over the previous year. A large number of the vehicles ended up in Palestinian cities in the West Bank, according to the firm.
In July 2024, four IDF soldiers were wounded in a car-ramming terror attack at the Nir Tzvi junction, adjacent to the Tzrifin base. And in December 2023, a female soldier who was guarding the base was seriously hurt after being hit by a car in a traffic accident.
