IDF arrests Palestinian transporting weapons in Bethlehem

Security forces in West Bank capture man as he tries to move firearms, munitions through checkpoint

By ToI Staff 8 October 2016, 9:37 pm

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Firearms and ammunition seized by Israeli security forces near the al-Khader checkpoint in the West Bank on October 8, 2016 (IDF Spokesperson)

Israeli security forces on Saturday arrested a Palestinian man caught transporting a stash of weapons that included three improvised firearms, two magazines, ammunition and bullets, the IDF said in a statement.

The suspect was detained by Israel Police and IDF forces at a checkpoint near the West Bank city of Bethlehem.

He was apparently trying to transfer the weaponry to a hiding place.

Earlier on Saturday, security forces arrested a Palestinian suspect carrying a firearm in Bethlehem’s Dheisheh Refugee Camp, the army said.

The army and police are in the midst of a large campaign to crackdown on illegal arms manufacturing and weapons smuggling in the West Bank and Israel.

According to the army statement, Israeli forces have uncovered and dismantled 32 Palestinian weapon manufacturing workshops and seized over 350 firearms in the West Bank since the beginning of 2016.

IDF arrest raids in the West Bank are common and have stepped up slightly as military officials attempt to head off what they fear may be an uptick in violence during the fall holiday season, when tensions have been known to rise.