Soldier injured, M-16 stolen in Tzrifin base infiltration

An Israel Defense Forces soldier was moderately wounded yesterday morning when two assailants infiltrated the Tzrifin military base near Rishon Letzion.

The Israel Defense Forces said they believe the perpetrators' motives were of a criminal rather than a terrorist nature. The suspects are believed to be Arab citizens from the area, who stole the weapon in order to sell it on the black market.

The incident took place between 2 and 3 A.M. while the soldier, a 20-year-old corporal, patrolled the border fence.

Two assailants armed with clubs crawled under the fence and hid behind an earthen embankment. When the soldier approached, they attacked him, grabbed his M-16 semi-automatic rifle and fled.

The soldier was taken to the base's Assaf Harofeh Hospital and admitted to the neurological wing with bruises and internal bone fractures.

IDF and police units were called to the scene and combed the area.

An army source said a number of security failures enabled the attack to take place. The military police's investigative unit is looking into how the perpetrators managed to infiltrate the base and why the soldier did not follow procedures for dealing with suspicious activity immediately upon noticing the infiltrators.

The source said the area the soldier was guarding and the base's main gate are not within viewing distance of each other, further compromising security.

A senior IDF official said, "They penetrated two meters into the base and didn't continue, so we can surmise they didn't have nationalistic motives, but rather were only after the soldier's weapon."