Israel
IDF weapons amnesty sees uzi submachine gun, explosives and rockets handed in
April 20, 2016 15:59
More than 1.3 million items including weapons, ammunition and night vision equipment have been handed back to the Israeli army by former soldiers.
Kalashnikov assault rifles, an Uzi submachine gun, plastic explosives, grenades and smoke bombs were among the 457 weapons retrieved during the month-long anonymous amnesty, which concluded this week.
The majority of the items returned were bullets and rockets, with a total of 1,347,744 pieces of ammunition now back in the possession of the military.
Included in the haul were forearm-sized heavy-duty bullets and bombs with small metal balls intended to harm anyone near the blast, as well as 220 items defined by the IDF as “optical and night vision equipment”.
It is understood that among the 27,681 objects included in “general equipment,” there was at least one parachute, sleeping bags and a truck tire.
More than 100 police stations and military bases were used as sites for the campaign, during which ex-soldiers did not face any prosecution for returning military items.
The amnesty was the first of its kind since 2008, when around £1.4m worth of equipment was returned.