BEERSHEBA: A French consulate worker was charged in an Israeli court Monday with arms smuggling following his arrest on accusations he used an official car to transport dozens of guns from the Gaza Strip to the occupied West Bank.

Israeli officials were quick to note that the worker from France’s Jerusalem consulate acted on his own without his superiors’ knowledge and that diplomatic relations between the two countries were not affected.

But the delicate case comes ahead of a planned visit next week to Israel and the Palestinian territories by French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian and French diplomats are sure to face questions over it.

The arrested French citizen and several Palestinian suspects are accused of belonging to a gun-running network that eventually sold the weapons to arms dealers, Israel’s Shin Bet domestic security agency said in a statement.

It alleged that Romain Franck had taken advantage of reduced security checks for consular vehicles to transport the weapons out of the Palestinian enclave.

The Shin Bet said he was motivated by money, with the indictment alleging he was paid a total of around $5,500.

“The consulate employee smuggled the arms on a number of occasions in recent months while using the French consulate’s consular car, which underwent a more lax security inspection at the border crossing, as is the case with this type of car,” the statement said.

“The consulate employee transferred arms on five occasions, during which he transferred some 70 pistols and two automatic rifles.” A total of nine suspects have been arrested and six were charged in court in the southern Israeli city of Beersheba on Monday, including Franck.

Officials provided varying ages for Franck as either 23 or 24. He was arrested on February 15, but the case was previously kept under a gag order as the investigation continued. Franck spoke through an interpreter to confirm his identity during the brief court appearance, where his remand was extended until March 28. Two French diplomats were at the court to monitor the proceedings.

Published in Dawn, March 20th, 2018