The Israel Defense Forces said on Monday it “discovered and addressed” allegations that Arab-Israeli civilian workers without the proper security clearance entered an Air Force base and received a map of the facility.
“All the incidents described were discovered and addressed following inspections and strict enforcement initiated by the IDF,” the military’s Spokesperson’s Unit said in a response to a Hakol Hayehudi exposé.
The Hebrew-language outlet, citing from an internal IDF military audit, reported earlier on Monday about what it described as a “major security lapse” at the Tel Nof Airbase near the city of Rehovot in central Israel.
According to the internal IDF audit cited by Hakol Hayehudi, two Arab workers, both of whom lacked security clearance, entered Tel Nof with the approval of Brig. Gen. Ariel Dayan, the base’s commanding officer.
The two workers, who reportedly received a detailed map of the facility through WhatsApp, were allowed to roam freely throughout the base, the report said. The maps they received were said to have included information about permanent IAF personnel and fighter pilots, specifying each military family and their on-base residence.
In separate incidents, Arab workers were able to enter an unnamed but sensitive IAF base using forged ID cards, smuggle a worker in a vehicle and photograph classified military equipment, Hakol Hayehudi said.
The Arabs reportedly also deposited a fake phone without a SIM card at the base entrance and smuggled another phone into the facility instead. They were also said to have forged “inspected” stickers for smartphones, allowing them to walk around the base with unauthorized devices.
The group reportedly entered the base with a device that disrupts access control systems and stole military equipment from a container on site.
Additionally, in January, Arab workers with security clearance tried to convince an IDF soldier at the Hatzerim Airbase near Beersheva to sell them his weapon for 30,000 shekels ($7,975). The soldier reported this.
“The civilians who violated the orders were immediately removed from IDF bases and handed over to the security authorities,” the military said in the response to Hakol Hayehudi on Monday. “The transfer of a photo of the base to a civilian is under investigation by information security personnel and will be handled in accordance with the findings. We emphasize that there is no concern of an information leak.
“We emphasize that, in accordance with regulations, every contracted employee entering an IDF base is closely escorted from the moment of entry to the moment of exit by IDF personnel,” the military added.
Hamas terrorists, as part of their Oct. 7, 2023, cross-border massacre from Gaza, planned to invade the Tel Nof Airbase, about 45 miles north of the Strip. A map of the base was found on the body of one terrorist.
An Oct. 4 audit of IDF posts along the Gaza border showed a severe lack of preparedness, with soldiers failing to prevent unauthorized people from entering the base, entering the operations rooms, taking sensitive materials, stealing the keys to the armory and leaving with weapons.
In June 2024, a three-member audit team of the army’s General Staff infiltrated one of the IDF’s most sensitive facilities, the Unit 8200 intelligence base at the Glilot military camp in Ramat Hasharon.
For nearly three hours, the three roamed the base unhindered, reached operational compounds, collected hundreds of classified documents and data material from secret computers, according to reports.
