Seized pistol
Seized pistolIsrael Police Spokeswoman

The Arab weapons amnesty arms collection operation ended today (Tuesday) with embarrassing results: Only three Arabs returned weapons in their possession.

The purpose of the operation was to allow Arabs to hand over their illegal weapons without becoming involved in illegal weapons charges.

During the operation, Jewish and minority sector soldiers also took advantage of the opportunity to return IDF weapons to the police. These included 20 rifles and pistols, two grenades, cartridges, and large quantities of ammunition.

Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan said, "For many years, the members of the Knesset have falsely accused the police of failing to collect illegal weapons in the Arab sector, and now that the weapons collection operation has been completed, an operation which included immunity for anyone returning weapons, everyone understands that the problem is much deeper."

"The weapons collection theory failed. Dealing with the problem requires intelligence gathering, enforcement, and entry of police forces into places where illegal weapons are held. There is no real other possibility for collecting weapons," Erdan stressed.