An Israeli tank was stolen from a military zone. Authorities found it in a junkyard
In this photo provided by the Israeli police, an Israeli tank that was stolen from a military zone is seen in a junkyard near Haifa, Israel, Wednesday, Sept. 20, 2022. Israeli authorities are trying to figure out how the tank was stolen from a military training zone and taken to the junkyard in northern Israel. The army said that the tank was unarmed and had been out of service for many years. (Israeli Police via AP)
JERUSALEM (AP) — Israeli authorities are trying to figure out how a heavily armored, but unarmed, tank was stolen from a military training zone after finding it discarded in a junkyard.
The Israeli Merkava 2 tank disappeared from a training zone in northern Israel near the coastal city of Haifa, the Israeli army said Wednesday. The training zone is closed to the public when in use, but is otherwise accessible to passersby.
Police said the 65-ton tank was found abandoned in a scrapyard near a military base. In a video from the scene, the army green tank towers alongside rusty scraps of metal and other industrial castoffs.
The army said the Merkava 2 was decommissioned years ago and was unarmed. It said it had been used most recently as a “stationary vehicle for soldiers’ exercises.”
Police said they had arrested two suspects in connection with the theft.