The Israeli military prosecution intends to file an indictment against an Israeli soldier suspected of selling arms to resistance factions, Israeli army source reported on Tuesday.
The incident was revealed by the Israeli Ynet news three weeks ago, but a military court issued a decree barring the publication of information regarding the inquiry against the soldier. The story had to be taken off the air, the Ynet reported.
Israeli prosecution demanded the Command Military Court to extend the remand of the soldier for a third consecutive time.
The Ynet reported that the soldier belongs to the Engineering Corps, and has participated in military offenses in the West Bank city Ramallah.
A few months ago he was transferred to the Logistics Corps.
The soldier was pointed as the main suspect when an M-16 rifle went missing from an Israeli army base in the Golan Heights, one month ago.
The soldiers’ attorney Tami Olman charged that her client, of Druze origin, had been subjected to pressure by resistance factions, who threatened ho “harm him and his family” if he refuses to smuggle arms from the base.
He admitted that he smuggled three rifles, while the investigators estimate that seven rifles were stolen from the base and were sold for undisclosed sums of money.
Olman told the Ynet that the soldier was interrogated under severe conditions, and that he even attempted to commit suicide.
A senior Israeli Military Policeman said that the military agency attaches the utmost importance to the disappearance of weapons “since they might end up with armed groups”, and that these groups will use these weapons against Israeli soldiers and citizens.
The source said that this case points to the soldier’s skill “as a professional robber”, since he was able to steal the rifles without being caught.
