FRENCH EMBASSY WORKERS ARRESTED FOR SMUGGLING WEAPONS TO GAZA
Two French Embassy workers along with five Palestinians have been indicted on charges of smuggling dozens of weapons from the Hamas-run Gaza Strip to the West Bank.
The Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) cleared for release on Monday that 24-year-old French citizen Romain Franck, who worked as a driver in the French Consulate in east Jerusalem, was part of a cell that smuggled 70 pistols and two assault rifles through the Erez crossing on the Israel-Gaza border on five different occasions.
He is accused of using his diplomatic vehicle to avoid security checks at the Erez border crossing as well as using another vehicle with diplomatic plates – a Citroen that was for his personal use – to drive through the Kalandiya checkpoint to get from Jerusalem to Ramallah.
Franck was charged with importing, trading, carrying, transporting and possession of weapons, as well as with fraudulently obtaining benefits under aggravated circumstances.