Arab Carjacking Gang Apprehended

A gang that has reportedly been responsible for the majority of recent carjackings in Yehudah and Shomron has been apprehended, Israel Police and the IDF said Wednesday. Members of the Arab gang were caught red-handed trying to eject a driver from a vehicle at a gas station near Ariel, officials said. The same gang was responsible for two other carjackings just this week, police said.

The gang was centered in the village of Aboud near Chalamish in the Binyamin region and has been involved in a number of recent carjackings. The gang members would stage accidents — often crashing into the rear of drivers’ vehicles — in order to get them to stop, and then steal the vehicles. According to victims, the gang members were armed, with some flashing what appeared to be automatic weapons in some cases.

IDF soldiers and Shin Bet agents overnight Tuesday shut down a workshop for the manufacture of arms in central Shomron. The workshop, which produced dozens of weapons a year, was located in a village near Kalkilya. It included several large metal cutting machines, along with dozens of weapons in various stages of manufacture. Soldiers confiscated the equipment and weapons, and made several arrests.

Overnight Tuesday, security officials said they arrested 16 wanted security suspects in other areas in Yehudah and Shomron. The suspects were wanted for participating in rioting and throwing stones and firebombs that endangered Israeli civilians and IDF soldiers. Several of the suspects were also charged with belonging to Hamas. All were being questioned on their activities by security forces.