Israel nabs Palestinian security officer for weapons dealing

JERUSALEM – The Israeli military says security forces have arrested a “major weapons dealer” who is a member of the Palestinian security services in the West Bank.

The military says it arrested Mahayub Borhan Rashad Knaza in the West Bank city of Nablus early on Monday and confiscated weapons manufacturing equipment.

Recent Israeli raids have seized weapons, shuttered arms-making factories and arrested weapons dealers as part of a crackdown meant to quell a spate of Palestinian attacks. The military says seven weapons-manufacturing machines were seized this year in the Nablus area.

Since mid-September, Palestinians attacks have killed 34 Israelis and two Americans. At least 205 Palestinians have also been killed, mainly by Israeli forces. Most were identified by Israel as attackers while the rest were killed in clashes with Israeli forces.