The Israeli police arrested last month a French driver working at the French consulate in East Jerusalem, suspected for using the mission’s vehicles, with diplomatic number plates, to smuggle weapons on several occasions from Gaza to the West Bank.
The French citizen known as Romain Franck, according to Israeli investigators, was arrested last month alongside eight Palestinians including a colleague of Franck; a security guard at the consulate, Israeli news website Ynetnews reported.
Investigations have found out that the French national transported 70 handguns and two rifles from Gaza to the West Bank while taking advantage of less strict security checks at Erez border.
The guns were given to Franck by a Palestinian in the Gaza strip who works at the French cultural center and were delivered to another Palestinian who sells the weapons to arm dealers, Ynetnews notes.
Franck is believed to have conducted the transactions for money. His activities were unknown to officials at the French mission who vowed full collaboration.
