A police chase operated by the Magen Unit of the Southern District Major Crimes Unit (YAMAR Darom), in the Negev region, resulted in the death of a man who attempted to smuggle weapons, Israeli Police said on Sunday evening.
According to the police spokesperson, while operating near the Ar’ara Bedouin encampments, the force identified a vehicle suspected of transporting weapons. After spotting the police, the driver, a man in his mid-20s, attempted to flee, driving recklessly through open terrain.
Officers then launched a vehicular pursuit, during which shots were fired at the vehicle’s tires in an effort to stop it. During the chase, an M16-type weapon was thrown from the fleeing vehicle. The driver continued driving at high speed until he lost control, causing the accident.
Magen David Adom reported a call at 22:09 from the Negev region regarding the traffic accident. Elad Pas and Ron Malka said, "We saw a man in his mid-20s who was unconscious and suffering from severe injuries to his body after being involved in a traffic accident. We conducted medical examinations, but unfortunately, his injuries were severe, and we had no choice but to pronounce his death.”
Paramedics and EMTs pronounced the death of a man in his mid-20s who suffered multi-system trauma.
Ben-Gvir backs Israel Police
Minister of National Security Itamar Ben-Gvir later voiced support for the officers involved in the operation, saying, “I back the fighters of the Magen Unit of the Southern District Major Crimes Unit who acted in the Bedouin dispersal against a weapons criminal."
He added, "Operation ‘New Order,’ which I initiated together with the Police Commissioner, was not a momentary operation, and officers of the Southern District, the district commander, and the commander of the police work constantly against criminals in the Negev. What we did in Tarabin, Lakiya, and Tel Sheva, we will do throughout the Negev.”