One of the suspects in last week's incident, which several Bedouins attacked two IDF soldiers in southern Israel, turned himself into the police on Tuesday, reports KAN. During questioning he said that he was in the area, but did not partake in the incident.
On Monday another one of the suspects handed himself in to the Israel Police, Walla reported. The second individual is also suspected of stealing equipment from the Tze'elim military base.
The Israel Police are searching for more suspects, residents of the Negev, who were involved in the unusual incident last week near the Bedouin village of Bir Hadaj in southern Israel and managed to escape, possibly to Egypt.
During the incident that took place on June 2, two IDF soldiers at the Tze’elim Ground Forces training base in the Negev were surrounded by gangs of Bedouins after some of them attempted to steal equipment from the nearby military base.
An initial IDF investigation revealed that IDF soldiers attempted to catch the thieves, but within minutes were surrounded by a group of rioters who came to reinforce and assist the thieves.
The IDF Spokesperson's Unit said in response: "During training at the Tze’elim base, several officers identified a suspect stealing military equipment from the training ground and pursued the suspect's vehicle. During the pursuit, other suspicious vehicles arrived and surrounded the Jeep in a threatening manner. The officers reported the incident to the police and stopped at the side of the road."
Following the incident, the IDF instructed its soldiers to no longer chase after Bedouins in similar scenarios in the future.
Alex Winston contributed to this report.