Judah Ari Gross is The Times of Israel's religions and Diaspora affairs correspondent.
An Israeli investigator unwraps bricks of hashish smuggled into the country from Lebanon on June 2, 2021. (Israel Defense Forces)
Israeli security forces arrested an Arab Israeli father and son suspected of smuggling a large amount of hashish and firearms into Israel from Lebanon yesterday, potentially on behalf of the Hezbollah terrorist organization, the military says.
The suspects were found in possession of 15 handguns, dozens of ammunition magazines and some 36 kilograms (80 pounds) of hashish, a processed form of marijuana. In total, the Israel Defense Forces says the contraband is worth roughly NIS 2 million ($616,000).
“The IDF is investigating — among other things — if the smuggling attempt was done with assistance from the Hezbollah terror group,” the military says.
Though most illegal firearms in Israel are used for criminal purposes, not necessarily for terrorism, Israeli security services believe that at least some of the pistols were meant to be used in terror attacks orchestrated by Hezbollah.
An Israeli investigator weighs a brick of hashish that was smuggled into the country from Lebanon on June 2, 2021. (Israel Defense Forces)
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