Police have uncovered a weapons lab in the home of a West Bank settler that they believe was used to illegally fix decommissioned guns, according to information made public Thursday.
In a raid on the Jewish settlement of Kiryat Arba, police found equipment used to manufacture bullet casings, as well as reference books on how to manufacture weapons and explosives. Police also found 15 Uzi semiautomatic rifles, three of which had been restored to function properly.
Police have yet to determine what the weapons were intended for, and if they were to be used in a terrorist or criminal plot. The prime suspect, a secular Jew of Russian origin, apparently was not acting out of ideological motives.
He was arrested at the beginning of the month along with five others, although the allegations were not made public until Thursday. A gag order forbids the publication of the suspects' identities, but police intend to indict them on Monday.
The prime suspect told investigators that the weapons were to be sold abroad to collectors, although police doubt his story.
