An Israeli soldier has been arrested on suspicion of stealing the credit card details of army chief Lieutenant General Gabi Ashkenazi, a military source said on Sunday, ending a week-long news blackout on the embarrassing security lapse.
The soldier, who was serving in the army general staff, was detained after an assault on a guard in which a firearm was stolen, the source said. Ashkenazi did not notice the theft of his card details as only 400 dollars' worth of unauthorised transactions were made using them. A search of his office detected that a pistol that he had received as an official gift had also been stolen. Israel has always prided itself on a reputation for tight security, particularly within the higher echelons of the military.