Israeli Soldier Indicted for Selling Weapons to Arabs

An IDF soldier has been arrested for selling weapons and ammunition, the IDF announced. The arrest was made after a lengthy undercover investigation, with evidence gathered against the soldier for the sale of M-16 weapons and thousands of rounds of ammunition to criminals in the Israeli Arab town of Ar’ara. The soldier was indicted in a Hadera court Thursday on charges of dealing in illegal weapons, assisting criminals, and several security charges.

The investigation was the result of a tip investigators received about missing IDF weapons, and after an investigation tracing how they went missing, investigators discovered a connection between an IDF soldier in his regular service who had access to the weapons. An undercover investigation was begun, and evidence was gathered against the 22-year-old soldier, a resident of Netanya.

Among the evidence was footage of the soldier entering Ar’ara and other villages and making contact with individuals there. Three residents of Ar’ara were arrested as a result of the investigation as well. Military prosecutors asked the court to hold all the suspects until the end of proceedings against them.

IDF officials said that while the gang that purchased the weapons was criminal in nature, it was highly likely that they may have transferred some of the weapons or ammunition to terrorists. In a statement, the army said that stolen weapons were used in terror attacks as well as for criminal activity, and that security forces were determined to seize all weapons that were being held illegally by all people.