Criticism against the Defense Ministry: Knew about the contractors' fraud in the IDF and ignored it?

An investigation into contractors suspected of stealing fuel from the IDF and defrauding the state of tens of millions of shekels raises the question of whether officials in the Defense Ministry knew about the situation and ignored it. In a hearing at the Be'er Sheva Magistrate's Court, the defense argued that the ministry supervised the projects.

While contractors are suspected of stealing fuel from the IDF and defrauding the state of tens of millions of shekels, a central question arose during the investigation that began yesterday: how were the projects conducted on the ground, who supervised the work, and did officials in the Defense Ministry know about what was happening? In a hearing held last night at the Be'er Sheva Magistrate's Court, it emerged that the work in the Gaza Strip was carried out as part of projects initiated by the Defense Ministry through tenders. The defense attorney for one of the suspected contractors raised the question of how, if the Defense Ministry contracted with those same contractors, defined the work, and supervised the projects, a fraud mechanism of such large proportions could have existed. A representative of the investigating unit confirmed that the work was carried out as part of Defense Ministry projects, but noted that at this stage, no officials from the Defense Ministry itself have been arrested.