Border police arrest two for alleged vandalization of IDF soldier’s memorial site

Border Police have arrested two individuals suspected of vandalizing a memorial site in Kibbutz Retamim dedicated to Sgt. Yehuda Peretz. The memorial, honoring the 18-year-old Golani Brigade soldier who died in a road accident in August 2025, was found damaged last month with burned benches and ruined signs and flags.

Residents reported the vandalism to the police, calling it a "serious violation of sovereignty and the rule of law." Undercover officers from the Border Police apprehended the suspects in the Bedouin town of Bir Hadaj. They were taken to the Segev Shalom police station for questioning.

Sgt. Peretz was killed when the vehicle he was traveling in crashed into a barrier on Route 222. He was scheduled to be married just one month after the accident. According to a memorial site for fallen soldiers, Peretz had met his partner at age 15 and proposed during his IDF service. He was returning from combat in Gaza when he died. Peretz had lived in Retamim since he was three years old and was active in the Bnei Akiva youth movement. Following his death, the local chapter raised funds to dedicate a Torah scroll in his memory.

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serious violation of sovereignty and the rule of law