“The state has lost its monopoly on arms.” A report reveals the volume of weapons stolen from Israeli army depots and sold inside the occupied territories

Occupied Jerusalem - The

decision of the Israeli government - a few days ago - to seek the assistance of the General Security Agency "Shin Bet" and the Israeli army to combat the phenomenon of unlicensed weapons in Arab towns inside the Palestinian

reflected the failure to combat violence and crime, and the official establishment's fears of the possibility of losing control over the Palestinian military arsenal inside and using it for security purposes against Israel.

To justify the government’s decision to involve the Shin Bet and the army in Arab towns under the pretext of limiting unlicensed weapons, a report by the Haaretz newspaper revealed the volume of weapons and combat tools that were stolen from the warehouses of the Israeli army and military industries from 2013 to 2020, indicating that hundreds of weapons are on their way. From these warehouses annually and sold on the black market in Arab towns.

The Israeli army admitted a partial outcome of the thefts carried out during the mentioned period, including 323 M16 rifles, 75 M4 rifles, 84 Tavor rifles, 32 Negev submachine guns and "Mag", 13 "Glock" pistols, 82 rifle launchers, 527 grenades, 47 "Law" missiles, 37 grenade launchers, 386 explosive charges, 12 lighting grenades, 35 boxes of ammunition and 500,000 live bullets.

According to the Haaretz report, the Israeli army was not able to collect accurate data on the amount of weapons stolen from its warehouses until 2015, but the information about the stolen items is still incomplete, and the newspaper believes that the weapons stolen from army warehouses are many times what was revealed, as the value of the stolen weapons is estimated. The loot each year is about $15 million.

According to the newspaper’s estimates, crime gangs view the Israeli army’s depots as a major supplier of weapons, as hundreds of different weapons parts and about 250,000 bullets are stolen annually from the army’s warehouses and camps, in addition to hundreds of weapons that are smuggled in deals across the border, and hundreds of pieces that are handmade in concerns.

Israeli soldiers search for weapons stolen from them in the Triangle area inside the Palestinian territories (Al-Jazeera)

escalation and inaction

The Palestinian Arab community at home is witnessing an escalation in violence and crime, at a time when the Israeli police are failing to play their role in combating the phenomenon of gun chaos, as the death toll among Arabs since the beginning of 2021 until mid-October reached 86 people. Including 12 women.

Official data showed that crimes of gun chaos, violence and crime killed 1,450 people inside the Palestinian territories during the last two decades, knowing that 70% of the crimes were not deciphered, and the killers were not brought to trial and were registered against unknown persons, amid the absence of deterrence and the decline in the role of the Israeli law enforcement authorities in dealing with violence and crime in Arab towns.

The Israeli institution estimates that the number of unlicensed weapons in the Palestinian Arab community inside is about 500,000, ranging from various rifles, pistols, M16 rifles, Lau missiles, and bombs, as well as the availability of materials for the manufacture of explosives, bullets and combs. ammunition.

Establishing a special unit of undercover soldiers to limit unlicensed weapons so that they are not used for security purposes against Israel (Al-Jazeera)

Gangs and infighting

The gift of al-Quds and al-Aqsa in October 2000 constituted a pivotal station in the 48 Palestinian entity;

As the Israeli establishment deliberately spread arms chaos in Arab towns to undermine Arab citizens and dismantle their unity, in an attempt to separate them and isolate them from the cause and the Palestinian people.

After the failure of various “familyization” projects and identity distortion schemes, and in an effort to sow the seeds of discord and disintegration among Arab citizens and strike the tide and national and national awareness, the Israeli police refrained from combating violence and crime in Arab towns, and unleashed the organized crime gangs - which were then fought with an iron hand in the towns Judaism - to have fun and have fun in the towns of the Palestinian interior.

At the behest of the law enforcement authorities and the Israeli police, weapons and crime gangs infiltrated Arab towns, creating signs of internal fighting and societal disintegration, which the Israeli establishment has been unable to achieve for decades.

Hundreds of weapons are stolen annually from Israeli warehouses (Al-Jazeera)

clutter and disassemble

The Israeli establishment succeeded in dismantling the community inside the Palestinian territories through the chaos of arms and the ease of pressing the trigger in internal conflicts;

The Arab towns have turned into a black market for weapons that can be within the reach of anyone who wants, as the prices of weapons, pistols and rifles ranged between two thousand dollars and could reach 30 thousand dollars.

The Israeli establishment has fueled violence, crime and internal conflicts in the Arab community, which has lost confidence in the Israeli police, which colludes with organized crime gangs and unleashes the arms trade on the black market, and refrains from providing security and safety for Arabs.

Arab associations, parties, movements and personalities inside the country believe that the chaos of arms and the transformation of the Palestinian towns into a black market for arms trading and the large presence of various types of arms in Arab towns is due to cross-border smuggling deals that Israeli soldiers and officers are often connected to, as well as the ease of obtaining arms. From the army camps, without being deterred by the Israeli authorities, the possession of weapons turned into a “culture” for Arab youth.

smuggling and looting

In support of the argument referring to the deliberate failure of law enforcement authorities in combating violence and arms control, a report by the Israeli State Comptroller Netanyahu Engelman - issued under the title "The Police Confrontation of Illegal Weapon Possession and Shooting Incidents in Arab Towns and Mixed Cities" - mentioned a number of failures to address The authorities to the phenomenon of violence and crime and to refrain from combating the chaos of arms.

Regarding the phenomenon of weapons chaos and its source, Engelman said in his report, "The police do not have an accurate estimate of the amount of unlicensed weapons in the Arab community. The sources of arms smuggling to Arab voters are thefts from the Israeli army and smuggling from the West Bank, Jordan and other countries."

The report clarifies that despite attempts to coordinate between the various parties dealing with the issue of unlicensed weapons, there are still many shortcomings in the transfer of information and cooperation among them, to reduce the chaos of weapons, including smuggling and theft from warehouses, drying up their sources, and collecting them from the hands of citizens.

Soldiers of the Israeli army in one of the towns inside the Palestinian territories (Al-Jazeera)

Anarchy and monopoly

The same position was expressed by journalist Nadav Eyal - the editor of the Israeli Channel 13 - who wrote an article entitled "The state has lost its monopoly on arms", and published it on the website of the newspaper "Yediot Aharonot" regarding the chaos of arms in Israel, both the unlicensed weapons scattered in large quantities in Arab towns, Or the expansion of the phenomenon of granting arms licenses to Jews and members of the right in particular, which has eroded the state's monopoly on arms ownership.

Within his criticism of the Israeli authorities and their role in the spread of arms chaos in the country, he reviewed the reasons behind unlicensed arms in Arab towns, most notably the theft of weapons from the Israeli army, the expansion of arms-manufacturing workshops, and massive smuggling from the Jordanian border.

Eyal attributed the chaos of weapons to the security crisis that Israel has experienced since its establishment, as the state boasted until recent years that it succeeded, despite the security conditions, in reducing violence and crime, but there is currently no effect of this role, as illegal weapons are flooding Arab cities and towns, noting that It won't stop there.