Israeli man steals caravan from site of Nova party massacre after tricking police

The caravan had been left in the parking lot in the aftermath of Hamas's massacre of Israel's South on October 7.

 Israeli soldiers inspect the burnt cars of festival-goers at the site of an attack on the Nova Festival by Hamas gunmen from Gaza, near Israel's border with the Gaza Strip, in southern Israel, October 13, 2023.  (photo credit: REUTERS/AMIR COHEN)
Israeli soldiers inspect the burnt cars of festival-goers at the site of an attack on the Nova Festival by Hamas gunmen from Gaza, near Israel's border with the Gaza Strip, in southern Israel, October 13, 2023.
(photo credit: REUTERS/AMIR COHEN)

Israel Police arrested a Beersheba man earlier this week in connection with the theft of a caravan left in the Re'im parking lot after the Nova party massacre, according to a police spokesperson.

The man allegedly arrived at the scene of the party near Re'im, a closed military zone, on October 11, asking army personnel if he could help in locating bodies.

Army personnel obliged and allowed him access to the site, ostensibly for helping to locate bodies. It was only later that the theft was reported leading Israel Police to open an investigation into the stolen caravan.

The caravan had been left in the parking lot in the aftermath of the massacre on October 7.

Beersheba City Hall (credit: BASWIM/CC BY 3.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0)/VIA WIKIMEDIA COMMONS)
Beersheba City Hall (credit: BASWIM/CC BY 3.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0)/VIA WIKIMEDIA COMMONS)

Beersheba police investigators tracked down the stolen caravan to the Emek Sarah industrial zone, leading to the arrest of the suspect.

The suspect, in his 40s, had parked the trailer near a business belonging to him and stolen various documents and $10,000 used by the party's production team.

Following the recovery of the caravan it was returned to its legal owner. 

Police requested the extension of his detention until the end of legal proceedings against him.

Crime during the war

Crimes such as these have been thankfully rare since the start of the war with Hamas, with most crimes being contained in pro-Hamas social media posts, leading to the arrest of the poster.

Israel Police Insp.-Gen. Kobi Shabtai also announced that no cases of inter-communal violence related to the war a massive improvement since the 2021 Guardian of the Walls Operation, although the Arab murder rate has now breached 200 murders since the start of the year.