Border Police, IDF seize illegal sniper rifles in West Bank village
Palestinian suspect arrested, investigation into links to terrorist cells opened.
By DANIEL K. EISENBUDUpdated: OCTOBER 2, 2017 13:17WEAPONS seized during overnight raids in the West Bank village of Bani Naim are displayed by the Israel Police.(photo credit: ISRAEL POLICE)
Border Police and IDF units raided an illegal weapons factory in the West Bank Palestinian village of Bani Naim overnight Sunday, arresting an alleged arms dealer and seizing sniper rifles featuring advanced scopes and night vision.According to police, the operation was initiated after intelligence was gathered that arms were being stored and sold at the site.“A number of weapons equipped with telescopic lenses and night vision were found and confiscated at the scene, and one suspect was arrested and is being questioned,” said police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld.“The sniper rifles are being examined to determine where they came from, and an investigation into why they were being stored in that area, and if they are connected in any way to terrorist activity, has been opened,” he added.Police and IDF forces routinely investigate illegal arms manufacturing and sales in the West Bank, where the weapons frequently end up in the hands of terrorists who carry out attacks in Jerusalem and nearby Jewish settlements.“Operations are continuing across Judea and Samaria in order to find terrorist cells and prevent weapons from being used in any terrorist activity,” said Rosenfeld.Bani Naim made national headlines in July of 2016 when the two brothers of the terrorist who stabbed 13-yearold Hallel Yaffa Ariel to death while she slept in her Kiryat Arba home were arrested in the Arab village for allegedly serving as accomplices.
