French Consulate Employee Arrested for Smuggling Weapons from Gaza to West Bank
The ISA cleared for release on Monday it had arrested a French citizen, an employee of France’s consulate in Jerusalem, on suspicion of using a diplomatic vehicle to smuggle pistols and assault rifles from the Gaza Strip to Palestinians in the West Bank
IsraelDefense
| 19/03/2018
The consular vehicle used for the smuggling operations (Photo: ISA)
The Israel Security Agency revealed on Monday that an employee of the French consulate in Jerusalem was involved in a weapons trafficking operation, exploiting his position to smuggle dozens of guns from the Gaza Strip to the West Bank on several occasions.
The consulate employee, identified as a French citizen in his mid-20's named Romain Franck, is accused of making at least five weapons transfers through the Erez border crossing using the French consular vehicle during which he brought some 70 pistols and two assault rifles from Gaza into the West Bank for sale by illegal arms dealers. The weapons were given to Franck by a Palestinian resident of the Gaza Strip employed at the French Cultural Center in the blockaded enclave.
"The consulate employee smuggled the arms on a number of occasions in recent months while using the French consulate's consular car, which underwent a more lax security inspection at the border crossing, as is the case with this type of car," the ISA said in a statement.
The ISA said in a statement that their investigation showed that Franck was motivated by financial gain and acted without the knowledge of his superiors at the consulate.
Several other suspects were arrested on suspicion of their involvement in the plot, including an East Jerusalem resident who works as a security guard at the French consulate in Jerusalem.
"This is a very serious incident, in which the immunity and privileges granted to foreign missions in Israel in order to smuggle standard weapons into dozens of weapons that may be used for terrorist attacks against Israeli civilians and security forces were cynically exploited," a senior ISA source said.
The Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories, Maj. Gen. Yoav "Poly" Mordechai referred to the incident as a "grave incident of cynical and never-ending exploitation of humanitarian aid and international aid by the terrorist infrastructure."
Maj. Gen. Mordechai called for a stricter policy for granting permits to enter and leave Israel and the Palestinian territories, as "the international bodies are required to carry out internal inspections to ensure aid goes to the residents of Gaza and not to terror."
The investigation was conducted in coordination with the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the ISA was in consistent contact with the French authorities.
"We take this case very seriously and are in close contact with the Israeli authorities," a spokesperson for the French Embassy in Tel Aviv said on Monday. "He has benefited and continues to enjoy the consular protection" provided to French nationals, the spokesperson added.
[Sources: i24 News, The Jerusalem Post, The Times of Israel]
The ISA cleared for release on Monday it had arrested a French citizen, an employee of France’s consulate in Jerusalem, on suspicion of using a diplomatic vehicle to smuggle pistols and assault rifles from the Gaza Strip to Palestinians in the West Bank
The consular vehicle used for the smuggling operations (Photo: ISA)
The Israel Security Agency revealed on Monday that an employee of the French consulate in Jerusalem was involved in a weapons trafficking operation, exploiting his position to smuggle dozens of guns from the Gaza Strip to the West Bank on several occasions.
The consulate employee, identified as a French citizen in his mid-20's named Romain Franck, is accused of making at least five weapons transfers through the Erez border crossing using the French consular vehicle during which he brought some 70 pistols and two assault rifles from Gaza into the West Bank for sale by illegal arms dealers. The weapons were given to Franck by a Palestinian resident of the Gaza Strip employed at the French Cultural Center in the blockaded enclave.
"The consulate employee smuggled the arms on a number of occasions in recent months while using the French consulate's consular car, which underwent a more lax security inspection at the border crossing, as is the case with this type of car," the ISA said in a statement.
The ISA said in a statement that their investigation showed that Franck was motivated by financial gain and acted without the knowledge of his superiors at the consulate.
Several other suspects were arrested on suspicion of their involvement in the plot, including an East Jerusalem resident who works as a security guard at the French consulate in Jerusalem.
"This is a very serious incident, in which the immunity and privileges granted to foreign missions in Israel in order to smuggle standard weapons into dozens of weapons that may be used for terrorist attacks against Israeli civilians and security forces were cynically exploited," a senior ISA source said.
The Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories, Maj. Gen. Yoav "Poly" Mordechai referred to the incident as a "grave incident of cynical and never-ending exploitation of humanitarian aid and international aid by the terrorist infrastructure."
Maj. Gen. Mordechai called for a stricter policy for granting permits to enter and leave Israel and the Palestinian territories, as "the international bodies are required to carry out internal inspections to ensure aid goes to the residents of Gaza and not to terror."
The investigation was conducted in coordination with the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the ISA was in consistent contact with the French authorities.
"We take this case very seriously and are in close contact with the Israeli authorities," a spokesperson for the French Embassy in Tel Aviv said on Monday. "He has benefited and continues to enjoy the consular protection" provided to French nationals, the spokesperson added.
[Sources: i24 News, The Jerusalem Post, The Times of Israel]
