Israel Bans Chinese Cars From Entering Military Bases

The Israel Defense Forces has banned the entry of China-made vehicles into its military bases due to the possibility of espionage using sensors and cameras.

According to Israel National News, the directive will require all career officers and civilian employees who own Chinese vehicles to park them outside military bases.

The reason for this decision was the concern that confidential information could be compromised through surveillance systems built into cars.

A month earlier, the army command had for the first time restricted the parking of Chinese vehicles at the Gideonim Signal Corps base near Tsrifin. Owners were instructed to park their vehicles in designated areas away from sensitive sites.

In early July, the Israeli Ministry of Defense acknowledged the threat of leakage of critical information through Chinese electric vehicles and officially suspended their supply to IDF officers.

To date, the Israeli Defense Ministry has already received more than 600 Chinese cars, including the MG ZS EV and Chery Tiggo 8 models, which are actively used as official transport for officers.

In addition, the new BYD Atto 3 electric cars, which were planned to be handed over to IDF lieutenant colonels, were put on hold after their electronics were checked.

To minimize the risks of information leakage, the  e-Call system , an automatic communication with emergency services, was forcibly disabled in the received cars.

Evoking security concern over Chinese automibiles,  Dr. Harel Menashri, former head of the Shin Bet cyber department, Chinese cars should be considered mobile intelligence platforms capable of collecting audio, video, geolocation and biometric data and transmitting them to servers in China.

Israel is not the first country to impose access restrictions - earlier this year, the United Kingdom also imposed a similar ban on Chinese vehicles entering military facilities.