Israeli army seized on Monday a huge illegal weapon manufacturing warehouse in the West Bank city of Hebron, a military spokesperson said in a statement.

The weapons were found in the basement of a residential building in central Hebron, a city that has been a focal point of much of the Palestinian unrest over the past year.

In the raid, the troops seized 12 weapon manufacturing machines, ammunition, more than 150 weapon parts and an M-16 riffle, according to the spokesperson.

"Forces arrested the owner of the warehouse and seized equipment used to manufacture the illegal weaponry," the statement read.

The owner, whose name has not been disclosed, said the workshop was used to produce tools for agriculture. He was taken to interrogation at a facility of the Shin Bet security service, an Israeli official said.

Lt. Col. Peter Lerner, a spokesman for the Israel Defense Forces, said that over the past year, the military "has seized 40 weapon manufacturing warehouses and uncovered over 420 weapons."

Israel occupied the West Bank in the 1967 war, together with the Gaza Strip, and has been controlling it ever since, despite international criticism.

source: Xinhua