Police search for weapon stolen from soldier in northern Israel

Police were deployed in force throughout the Western Galilee Thursday night following a report that a soldier’s weapon had been stolen.

Authorities said the weapon had been nabbed during a drill near Shomera, close to the Lebanese border. There were no further details on how the gun had been stolen.

Hadashot TV news reported that police suspected a resident of the nearby Bedouin village of Aramsha who is known to authorities, and were searching for him.

“Police have launched an expedited probe while using all required measures to arrest the offenders and recapture the weapon, for the security of the public,” officials said.

In June police arrested three residents of southern Israel suspected of stealing a soldier’s rifle at gunpoint. The three were suspected of threatening the soldier at gunpoint at the Beit Kama junction north of Beersheba and physically assaulting him, before taking his rifle and fleeing the scene.