BICOM

In the largest operation of its kind this year, Israeli forces have uncovered and shut down seven weapons workshops in the West Bank.

The joint IDF, police and Shin Bet operation, which involved five battalions, took place overnight Tuesday in the Hebron and Bethlehem areas. Israeli forces are said to have seized dozens of weapons, cartridges and weapons parts, plus 22 gun manufacturing machines.

Two individuals, who the IDF said own and operate the factories, were detained for questioning. Neither are thought to be linked to any specific terror group, but rather operated the factories for financial gain. YNet says that although the operation was met with violent disturbances, there were no injuries in the clashes.

The IDF said that since the beginning of the year, it has seized around 350 weapons in the West Bank and 30 lathes, arresting 140 people in connection with weapons production.

Haaretz quotes an unnamed IDF officer, who told military correspondents: “We’re in an ongoing battle against the production infrastructure and against the firearms dealers so that the weapons will be less available.”

The officer added: “We believe that there are additional plants like these – and quite a few of them. From what we have found we realise that these are plants that will produce hundreds of weapons that will go out to the field, and there was potential for hundreds of additional weapons to be sent out later.”

Most of the weapons confiscated in the operation were hand guns and Carl Gustav rifles, known as the “Carlo.”. Relatively cheap to purchase, the “Carlo” has increasingly become the weapon of choice for Palestinians launching attacks on Israelis. Since October, a wave of Palestinian violence has killed at least 40 people. The vast majority of these attacks have been carried out by apparent lone Palestinian individuals, acting independently from terror groups, but with relatively easy access to weapons.