One day after President Mahmoud Abbas has issued a decree by law amending the Firearms and Ammunition Law of 1998, the Palestinian Military Intelligence (MI) seized five M16 rifles in the southern West Bank city of Hebron as part of the efforts exerted to control the proliferation of weapons outside the framework permitted by law, according to an MI statement.
It said security members chased a group of people, who were in possession of the confiscated weapons, but they fled to the areas of Hebron that are under Israeli military control, where outlaws often find a safe haven.
The operation came following the presidential decree of September 1 amending the Firearms and Ammunition Law which increased penalties on possession of illegal firearms.
The amendment also came after an increase in the use of firearms in different occasions in the West Bank, such as weddings and celebrations for the release or a prisoner, some of which caused the death of innocent bystanders.
