Security forces foil arms deal, seize wooden mace

Israeli security forces arrested a Palestinian man believed to be on his way to an arms deal in the West Bank on Thursday, confiscating a locally produced submachine gun and what appeared to be a wooden mace, the army said.

The suspect was picked up near Halhul, a Palestinian village outside Hebron, as part of a joint Israel Defense Forces and Israel Police operation, the army said.

Footage of the incident, which was released by the army, showed the suspect making a U-turn before his car was rushed by troops.

Upon searching the man’s vehicle, IDF soldiers found a “Carlo”-style submachine gun and what seems to be a wooden spiked mace, also known as a morning star.

The “Carlo,” as the gun is known, is a homemade or craft-produced weapon that can be made using rudimentary tools found in almost any machine shop, and other basic materials, like metal water pipes.

Over the past few months, Israel’s security forces — the army, police and Shin Bet — have been cracking down on illegal guns, raiding workshops and arresting alleged weapons manufacturers and dealers.

Last week, the Shin Bet arrested five men from Hebron and Yattir, a small Israeli Arab town just south of the West Bank. The five were believed to be involved in the illegal weapons trade, the agency said.

A drill press thought to have been used to create guns was also confiscated, along with NIS 150,000 ($40,000) in cash allegedly earned in weapons sales, the agency said last week.