The French Embassy in Israel said on Monday it was cooperating with Israeli authorities on their arrest of a French consular staffer accused of using a diplomatic vehicle to smuggle guns between Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.
"We take very this case seriously and are working very closely with the Israeli authorities on this matter," said an embassy spokesman, who declined to comment further on the allegations against the staffer, identified as Romain Franck.
Israel announced Franck's arrest on Monday. According to a statement from the Shin Bet security agency, on at least five occasions Franck used a consulate vehicle to elude security checks and move 70 guns and two assault rifles, which he reportedly received from a Gaza resident employed at the Institute Francais, through the Erez crossing on the Gaza border to the West Bank.
A senior Shin Bet official called the case "very serious" and said it "exploited the immunity and privileges granted to foreign consulates in Israel" to smuggle weapons that "could be used in terrorist attacks against Israeli civilians and security forces."
The Shin Bet has already arrested nine suspects as part of its investigation into the weapons smuggling. Six were due to be indicted later Monday, some of whom are also suspected of smuggling cash from Gaza into the West Bank. The detainees include a Jerusalem resident, who like Franck is an employee of the French Consulate in the capital.
The Shin Bet reported that it appeared that Franck's motive for helping smuggle the weapons was money, and none of his superiors at the consulate were involved.
Franck was due to be arraigned by the Beersheba District Court on Monday.
French parliamentarian Meyer Habib, who represents French citizens living in Israel and the Palestinian Authority, said in response to the report of Franck's arrest, "Unfortunately, this is not the first problematic affair in which the French Consulate in Jerusalem has been involved. The consulate, sadly, has turned into the French representation to the Palestinian Authority."
