Yahalom special engineering unit troops destroyed 18 lathes used for manufacturing weapons in the Balata refugee camp and Ras al-Ein area of the Samaria Brigade overnight Sunday, the military said. The operation targeted the production infrastructure for small arms and other weapons in northern Judea and Samaria.
Overnight Sunday, troops from the IDF's Yahalom special engineering unit conducted a targeted operation in the Balata refugee camp and the Ras al-Ein area, both under the Samaria Brigade's area of responsibility. The force located and destroyed 18 lathes and related machinery specifically configured for the manufacture of weapons, according to military sources.
This is the second known operation in recent months targeting the weapon-production infrastructure in the northern West Bank. On June 12, Israeli forces uncovered similar lathes in a-Za'im village east of Jerusalem, as The Zioneer reported. The scale of this operation — 18 lathes destroyed in a single night — marks one of the larger seizures of production machinery in the current campaign.
The equipment was used to produce barrels, bolts, and other components for small arms, likely supplying armed cells operating in the area. No arrests or casualties were reported in the initial military announcement. The operation is part of an ongoing effort by the IDF to dismantle the localized arms-production networks that have proliferated in refugee camps and towns across Judea and Samaria.
2 developments
- StrongIDF: Over 240 firearms seized in Judea and Samaria since January, hidden in civilian buildings
- ConfirmedSecurity forces arrest 19 wanted suspects, seize weapons in overnight Bethlehem operation
- StrongIDF's 8226 battalion finds rocket-production lathe in Rafah, continues weapons sweeps
- StrongIsraeli forces uncover weapon-production lathes in a-Za'im village
Source and signal
- Open-source intake