Mass arrests
Photo: Israel Police
Border Police conduct nationwide sweep against illegal Palestinian residents
Weeks-long covert operation culminates in arrest of 367 Palestinians illegally residing in Israel, among them 38 from Gaza; during raids, police discover weapons, pipe bombs and Molotov Cocktails.
Some 1,600 Israeli security personnel conducted one of the Border Police’s biggest operations Wednesday evening against Palestinians illegally residing inside Israel, carrying out 367 arrest, 38 of which were against Gaza residents.
The reinvigorated crackdown, which has been dubbed “Operation Green Candles,” also saw the arrest of 12 people suspected of employing the illegals and four others suspected of illegally transporting them.
Massive wave of arrests against Palestinians illegally residing in Israel (צילום: דוברות המשטרה)
During the raids, the police force located 55 gas containers, two pipe bombs, 16 Molotov Cocktails and three weapons.
The Palestinians from Gaza were arrested during a raid on a residential area in Umm al-Fahm.
(Photo: Israel Police)
According to the police, the Border Police have been operating covertly for weeks in preparation for the sweep, that began at around 3am overnight Tuesday in dozens of sites throughout the country.
As part of the operation, the Border Police officers raided a lab used for producing explosives in a home in Abu Dis which is believed to have supplied bombs to terror cells which were dismantled by the Border Police in the Tira area.
Gas canisters were discovered during the raid and three Abu Dis residents were arrested on suspicion of manufacturing explosives.
(Photo: Israel Police)
In the central city of Ra'anana, policemen spotted two suspicions individuals attempting to break into a house, who turned out to be Palestinian residents of Qalqilya. Both were arrested and caught with tools for breaking into buildings.
Further north in Beit Keshet, the Border Police discovered five suspects from Daburiyya who were involved in an illegal excavation at an antiquities site.
In the southern city of Rahat, police discovered during the arrests 16 Molotov Cocktails and two air guns in a backyard.
In Tamra in the Lower Galilee east of Acre, the officers found weapons and two pipe bombs, along with a stolen scooter.
