A serious incident took place at one of the IDF’s largest military bases in central Israel. On Tuesday morning, an illegal resident who infiltrated from Jenin stole a vehicle in the Tel Aviv area, breached a checkpoint at the Tzirifin military base, and wounded a soldier before being arrested in Ramla after a chase.
The IDF stated that there was no suspicion of a terrorist attack. A military spokesperson reported that the soldier “was injured by a vehicle at the checkpoint at the Tzirifin base gate,” adding that the incident was under investigation. The wounded soldier was transported to a hospital for treatment, and his family was notified.
After stealing the vehicle, the suspect drove onto Highway 44, turned right toward Tzirifin, and breached a checkpoint at the military base. He then spent several minutes driving inside the base before returning to the checkpoint, where he struck a young soldier in his 20s. Despite efforts to stop him, he fled back onto Highway 44, heading east toward Ramla. He was ultimately apprehended by Ramla police officers near the Al-Kharah intersection. The suspect was taken in for questioning and will appear in court later on Tuesday for a hearing on his remand to detention.
This incident follows a similar case on February 17, when an Arab car thief from the Judea and Samaria region attempted to steal a vehicle from a parking lot in Tzirifin and tried to snatch a police officer’s gun while escaping. Officers from the Central District managed to arrest him after a foot chase. In that case, Ramla police had been conducting a targeted operation in the Tzirifin area aimed at preventing car thefts.
The incident Tuesday morning was the first failure of the security apparatus since the appointment of the new IDF Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir. The new Chief of Staff announced several key decisions, including the cancellation of IDF vacations traditionally granted in bases and home front units during the holidays. He declared that 2025 would be a “year of war” and instructed commanders to establish clear “red lines” in every sector, define alert levels, and ensure rapid responses to any threat, emphasizing that “defense is mission number one.”
The fighting spirit of the new Chief of Staff was quickly tested Tuesday morning by a security lapse at the Tzirifin base, where a deadly truck attack occurred less than a year ago.
