Terrorist organizations and “lone wolf” terrorists are taking advantage of the Israel Postal Service in order to obtain advanced weapons they order via the Internet and are then used for terrorist attacks, security services have discovered, according to a report on Channel 2 News on Wednesday.
The discovery was made during an operation by Israeli security forces in the cellars of the Israel Postal Service's sorting center in Jerusalem.
Following a series of recent deadly terrorist attacks using improvised weapons manufactured in Palestinian Authority-assigned areas of Judea and Samaria, the police and the Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) concluded that the terrorist organizations - and even a few extremist activists engaged in terrorism - acquire weapons on the Internet that they receive by mail.
Security forces then decided to examine suspicious packages that were sent from abroad and intended for residents of PA-assigned territories. Searches conducted in the sorting center in Jerusalem revealed various parts, intended to be delivered to residents of the PA, that can be used to produce improvised rifles of the type used in a number of deadly attacks carried out in recent years.
The investigators also discovered advanced weapons, laser sights for weapons, explosive devices, metal detectors, as well as advanced means of observation, including multicopter drones designed to collect intelligence about the activities of security forces.
Police sources told Channel 2 News that the threat that arises from these items and the means that were exposed is "amazing." According to the sources, there is no doubt that this early detection has already helped thwart attacks that were in advanced stages of planning.