Submachine guns uncovered by the Israeli Border Police upon apprehension of Arab infiltrators from Shechem. Photo: Border Police.

JNS.org – Israeli forces raided a suspected weapons workshop in the West Bank village of Yatta, south of Hebron, on Monday night, and also carried out a series of raids throughout the West Bank to arrest Palestinians wanted on suspicion of involvement in terrorist activity and riots.

The raid on the suspected illegal gun mill followed a joint Israeli Defense Forces-Shin Bet security agency operation to thwart a weapons deal. During the operation, two suspects were arrested for allegedly manufacturing and selling guns, and Israeli forces recovered a homemade Carlo automatic rifle.

The IDF carried out the raid as part of a major campaign against the spread of illegal guns across the West Bank.

In separate raids, a total of 21 Palestinians were arrested throughout the West Bank on Monday night and taken in for questioning on suspicion of involvement in terrorist activities.

Four of them were arrested in the village of Beit Umar for allegedly setting a fire near the Israeli settlement of Bat Ayin. The arrests sparked a riot near Beit Umar, with protesters shooting off fireworks and throwing rocks, Molotov cocktails, burning tires and a homemade bomb at the soldiers.

The soldiers fired their weapons in the air and used crowd-dispersal measures to contain the riot. No injuries were reported among the soldiers.

Another IDF operation near the village of Beit Rima also encountered a riot, during which Palestinians threw rocks, Molotov cocktails and pipe bombs at the soldiers. No injuries were reported, but some IDF vehicles sustained damage.

In July, two Arab teenagers from Shechem in Samaria caught by Israeli Border Police were found to be carrying a pair of homemade machine guns.