Head of Israel's nuclear program's house burgled

Unknown assailants burglarized the Moshav Beit Yitzhak home of the head of the Israel Atomic Energy Commission two nights ago, and made off with a briefcase full of documents, a wallet and a mobile device, police reported on Tuesday.

The house belongs to Brig.-Gen. Dr. Shaul Horev, head of the IAEC and a senior official in the Prime Minister’s Office. Horev is in charge of Israel’s nuclear energy policy, one of the most sensitive jobs in the security establishment.

Yael Doron, spokeswoman for the IAEC, denied reports that a laptop was stolen from the house, and said none of the documents in the briefcase were classified.

She also said that all signs indicate that the people who burglarized the house had no idea who they were targeting, and the crime was purely criminal in nature.

The moshav is located in a narrow part of Israel only a few kilometers from the northern West Bank, and burglaries are highly common in the area.

On Tuesday morning, Sharon sub-district police sent out a court-issued gag order, which banned the publication of the identity of the owner of a house broken into in Beit Yitzhak, what was stolen, the identity of any suspects, and the fact that the house has surveillance cameras. The order was soon lifted.

A source in the Sharon sub-district would not comment on reports that Horev and his family were at home at the time of the robbery, and that the burglars grabbed the suitcase near the front door and fled shortly after entering.

Despite the sensitivity of his position, Horev is not provided with round-the-clock bodyguards at his residence, though he is given personal protection outside his home.

Horev’s position entails supervising a facility in Dimona and the nuclear research center at Nahal Sorek, as well as Israel’s nuclear research and development programs.