Border Policemen arrested two Palestinian Arab residents of Jalazun at Tapuah on Friday afternoon, after finding an M-16 hidden in the back seat during a routine stop. 

The M-16 was broken into two to hide it under the back seat of the vehicle, the Border Police said. 

Both suspects were arrested immediately and taken into custody for investigation by the Israel Security Agency (ISA or Shin Bet). 

Just 48 hours before, Border Police had caught a Shechem (Nablus) man in his twenties smuggling M-16 cartridges and other munitions through the same checkpoint, also hidden in the trunk of the vehicle. 

Commander of the 15th Battalion of the Border Police for Judea-Samaria (Shomron), Roey Amos, noted that the unit had foiled multiple terror attacks at the same checkpoint in recent weeks – and that only the soldiers’ alertness could have prevented the arms smuggling. 

“The soldiers have acted quietly and professionally during every situation they have encountered in recent weeks,” he stated.