Nazareth Man Charged After Stealing Electrician’s Car Left Unlocked on Tel Aviv Road

A 21-year-old Nazareth resident, Hassan Arqawi, has been charged after allegedly stealing a Volkswagen from an electrician who had left it unlocked while working on streetlight repairs on Namir Road in Tel Aviv. The incident happened about two and a half weeks ago, when the electrician and his grandson parked by the roadside, left the doors unlocked and the key in the trunk, and turned to the repair work.

Police said Arqawi spotted the opportunity, got into the car, started it and drove off quickly, leaving the pair shocked. They immediately called police emergency line 100. Officers opened a search, and soon afterward fighters from the Northern National Guard unit of the Border Police spotted the stolen car driving in the village of Reina, near Nazareth.

The officers blocked the vehicle and arrested Arqawi. During the arrest, he allegedly tried to pretend he was someone else, taking the car owner’s ID card, which had been left inside, and showing it to police as if it were his own. Police said they quickly noticed that he did not match the photo on the ID, and when asked for his identification number, he repeatedly gave wrong details.

Investigators later found that Arqawi was also driving while under a two-year license suspension imposed by the Nazareth-Nof Hagalil traffic court in March 2025. The Nazareth prosecutions unit filed an indictment in the Nof Hagalil-Nazareth Magistrate’s Court for car theft, driving while disqualified, driving without a license and without insurance, impersonation to deceive, and obstructing a police officer. Police also asked to keep him in custody until the end of the proceedings. The indictment further says that a few days earlier, Arqawi allegedly stole his brother’s car and abandoned it near the settlement of Shemshit after the fuel ran out.