Tank predating state found buried in sand dunes

Police say vehicle located near Nitzanim nature reserve is ‘decades old’; ordnance also discovered

Israeli police found a tank buried under sand dunes at the Nitzanim nature reserve in southern Israel which is believed to be older than the State of Israel, an Israel Police spokesperson said Sunday.

Police found the military vehicle after it was reported by a minor on Saturday, who told police he saw a tank turret jutting out of the dune.

An old landmine was found near the tank, as was an old explosive shell, though police do not believe there is any connection between the shell and the tank.

The tank was “decades old,” and likely dates back before the establishment of Israel in 1948, police estimated.

Police sappers cleared the landmine and shell from the area, and later destroyed them in a controlled explosion.

An old explosive shell found in the sand dunes at the Nitzanim Nature Reserve in southern Israel. (Israel Police Spokesperson)

The tank did not contain any dangerous materials and was filled with sand.

In January, police sappers were called to the Haganah museum on Rothschild Boulevard in Tel Aviv after a 90-year old live grenade was discovered in a cupboard.

The grenade was believed to have been manufactured in the 1920s in a private arms factory for use by the Jewish Underground.

Police said at the time that after the grenade was defused, it would be returned to the museum for display in an exhibit on the history of the Jewish Underground and the types of arms they used when fighting to establish the Jewish state.