Three Palestinians who entered Israel illegally from Gaza amid the Hamas-led mass invasion and onslaught of October 7, 2023, have been arrested in the Bedouin Israeli city of Rahat, according to a joint police and National Security Ministry statement cited by Hebrew media.
The trio have stayed and been employed in Rahat for the past two years, and they have been taken for questioning by the Shin Bet security agency after police found stolen military ammunition and a weapons-manufacturing lathe in their possession, according to the statement.
They were arrested as part of a boosted Israel Police effort to combat a surging violent crime epidemic within the Arab community, which has claimed the lives of at least 247 people this year, an all-time record.
The statement doesn’t say whether the suspects actively participated in the October 7 attack, and it isn’t initially clear how they weren’t located for over two years.
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