Police conducting a targeted operation in an eastern Jerusalem neighborhood on Sunday night and exposed and seized several types of weapons hidden throughout a house owned by a local resident, including fireworks hidden in the children’s room.
The forces found two stun grenades inside one of the doorposts in the house, two fireworks racks in the children’s room, and an FN handgun and ammunition were found hidden inside an electric device.
Another package suspected to be explosives was treated by a police sapper.
The suspect, 48, was investigated on suspicion of the illegal possession of a firearm and was brought on Monday before the Jerusalem Magistrate’s Court for an extension of his remand.
The police have launched an operation to curb criminal activity and violence within the Arab sector, which has claimed the lives of over 80 citizens in 2019.
Over the past year, the Israeli police have arrested more than 3,600 suspects for shootings, gun trafficking and the illegal use of weapons, more than 90% of them from Arab society.
Similarly, the state has filed approximately 1,000 indictments against offenders, and hundreds of other cases are under investigation or in preparation for indictment.
The police also located and seized more than 4,700 illegal weapons, including more than 1,300 rifles and weapons of various kinds, 275 grenades of various types, ammunition and explosive charges, most of them seized in Arab communities.
Data shows that Arab-Israelis are involved in 57 percent of all murder cases, 55% of the attempted murder cases, 59%of the arson incidents, 45% of the robberies, and 26% of drug cases.
Israelis Arabs represent about 20% of the general population.