The identity of the suspect is known to the authorities.
By Aryeh Savir, TPS
Israeli security forces launched a manhunt for an Arab who stole an assault rifle from a policeman in the Hebron area on Wednesday.
The police stated that an officer who was involved in traffic enforcement at the Al-Fawwar junction in the southern Hebron Mountains stopped an Arab vehicle for inspection.
During the inspection, the driver of the vehicle grabbed the M-16 rifle of one of the officers and began driving while dragging the officer until the weapon detached from his body.
Footage of the incident seen by TPS shows a vehicle with Palestinian Authority license plates trying to bypass the checkpoint. In response, the policemen take their weapons off their bodies and appear to try to stab the driver, who takes hold of one of the guns and speeds away.
The suspect fled in the direction of Hebron, and massive police and army forces arrived at the scene and conducted searches for the suspect’s vehicle.
The identity of the suspect is known to the police.
The suspect turned himself into the PA police, together with the stolen weapon. The PA returned the weapon to the Israeli police.