Romain Franck, an employee of the French consulate-general in Jerusalem, appears with co-defendants in the district court in Beersheba, Israel, March 19, 2018. Photo: REUTERS/Amir Cohen.

An Israeli court sentenced a French citizen on Monday to seven years‘ imprisonment under a plea bargain in which he confessed to using a diplomatic car to help Palestinian gun smugglers.

Romain Franck, a former employee of the French consulate in Jerusalem, was arrested last year and accused by Israeli prosecutors of receiving $7,600 for transporting the contraband between the Islamist-ruled Gaza Strip and the West Bank.

He was not charged with complicity in terrorism, sparing him a potentially harsher sentence. Also arrested in the case was a Palestinian from eastern Jerusalem.

Beersheba District Court said that Franck, who was 23 when indicted, would spend seven years in jail, including time already served. He also received an 18-month suspended sentence and was ordered to pay a 30,000 shekel (7,420 euro) fine.

A French embassy spokesman declined comment on the sentencing.