CBS: Car Thefts Up 6 Percent in 2015

Some 15,000 cars were stolen in Israel in 2015, a 6-percent rise over the number stolen a year before. A total of 15,272 vehicles were stolen last year, compared to 14,427 in 2014, Israel’s Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) announced this week.

Most of the stolen vehicles, the CBS said, in a report it distributed Tuesday, were taken from Israel to Palestinian Authority-controlled areas, where they were either sold outright or dismantled for parts. Police generally are unable to enter PA-controlled areas to track down stolen vehicles; instead, they often set up checkpoints on roads leading from Israel to PA-controlled areas in order to find cars reported stolen.

Of the vehicles stolen, 1,901 were four years old or less, while 4,418 were made between 2002 and 2011. 1,919 were made between 1992 and 2001. Among the vehicles stolen were 3,426 mopeds and motorcycles, the report added.