West Bank Man Found Dead, Hamas Suspect Arrested
Police say the death of an east Jerusalem resident was criminal, while security sweeps netted weapons and detainees in Bethlehem and Kalansuwa.
By Aiko Nakamura ·
Israeli police announced on Monday that they found the body of an east Jerusalem man in his 40s in the Wadi Rahal area near Bethlehem.
Officers, forensic teams, and IDF soldiers secured the scene and began gathering evidence. The body is scheduled for transfer to the Abu Kabir Forensic Institute. Initial assessments suggest the death resulted from a crime rather than a terror attack.
In a separate development, security forces arrested a Palestinian resident of the West Bank during overnight raids on Sunday night in Bethlehem. Police identified the man as having ties to Hamas. Three suspects were detained during the operation. Forces searched the home of the Hamas suspect and another resident believed to be holding weapons.
Investigators recovered a loaded hunting rifle, IDF uniforms, and various technological items. The two main suspects were moved to the Ma'ale Adumim police station. They face charges for carrying illegal weapons and possessing military equipment without authorization. In a related search near Hebron, officers arrested a man in his 30s who held a hunting rifle and a large supply of ammunition.
Police also uncovered a large cache of stolen IDF weapons in Kalansuwa, a majority-Arab city in central Israel. Two arrests followed the discovery during an operation aimed at reducing violent crime. The seized items included a Kalashnikov rifle, three M-16 assault rifles, eight handguns, six fragmentation grenades, two stun grenades, thousands of rounds of ammunition, and three tactical vests. An explosives expert handled the grenades at the scene.
Two family members present at the Kalansuwa site were taken in for questioning. Police submitted the seized weaponry as evidence and continue their investigation. In Rahat, officers rescued a man found chained to the floor of a home during a weapons sweep. His leg was shackled, and preliminary findings indicate his family members restrained him due to drug use. The man's brother was arrested and taken to the Rahat police station.
The investigation into the east Jerusalem man's death and the various arrests remains active.
Source: The Jerusalem Post
