Tel Sheva Brothers Held After Police Roadblock Breach

Footage from the operation (Photo: Israel Police Spokesperson's Unit)

Police arrested two brothers from the Bedouin town of Tel Sheva on Friday, November 6, after officers filmed them stealing parts from trucks in Rosh HaAyin and Ashdod and the pair then drove through a police roadblock in an attempt to escape.

The arrests ended a month-long undercover investigation code-named "Netiv HaGoral" ("Path of Destiny"). According to the Israel Police Spokesperson's Unit, the investigation was run by the Border Police Southern Central Unit together with the Southern District Yasam special patrol unit. It targeted members of a criminal cell from Tel Sheva suspected of a series of property crimes, including break-ins at businesses, thefts of safes and ATMs, and thefts of vehicle parts from trucks.

Police said the case began with intelligence work that linked the two brothers to several thefts of truck parts across Israel's Southern District. After receiving information that the suspects were planning another crime, Border Police detectives and Yasam officers prepared a joint operation to arrest them.

Superintendent Dor Tzari, head of the investigations division at the Border Police Southern Central Unit (Photo: Israel Police Spokesperson's Unit)

During the operation, the two were documented stealing gear selector units from trucks in Rosh HaAyin and Ashdod. When they reached a police roadblock set up in their path, police said, they broke through it with their car, endangering lives, and tried to flee.

Both suspects were arrested after a short chase. Police seized the car they were driving, which is suspected of involvement in other property crimes, including thefts of safes and ATMs. The brothers were taken to the Border Police Southern Central Unit for further questioning.

Police said the operation is part of the "ongoing and determined" campaign by the Israel Police and Border Police in the Southern District against property crime and lawlessness in rural areas. They said forces are focusing operational and intelligence efforts on locating and arresting suspects "in order to protect public property, strengthen residents' personal security and bring those involved to justice."

The arrests follow a string of wide-ranging enforcement operations in the south in recent weeks. About a week before the arrests were announced, two Club Car vehicles stolen from Moshav Gilat were found hidden near the Bedouin village of Tarabin. At the end of October, police used a drone to help arrest a 15-year-old from Tel Sheva who had allegedly attacked members of his family and fled on foot through the yards of nearby homes.