Tel Aviv, Feb. 2 -- In recent weeks, the Israel Police's Yamar (Central Investigations) Unit operated in the south of the country where it exposed a network of criminals and thwarted a shipment of grenades intended for criminal elements.

As the activity moved to the open phase, said the police, last week a contractor was arrested moments before an assassination attempt in the city of Ashkelon, and while he was in possession of a grenade. The remaining members of the cell were later arrested while in possession of additional weapons.

In addition, over the weekend, after a chase by the unit's detectives on Highway 4, two suspects, residents of Rahat, who supplied the weapons to the criminals, were arrested. The two were caught while on th...