Police arrested early Tuesday 13 people and seized pistols, rifles and grenades during a raid on a compound owned by the Abu Saluk clan in Lod, three days after a member of the rival Azbarga family was killed in a brawl outside a local mosque.
Investigators suspect the weapons were meant to be used in the ongoing feud between the Arab clans in the mixed city, which is located just east of Tel Aviv.
During the raid officers seized five pistols, a Kalashnikov assault rifle, a Carl Gustav submachine gun, a hunting rifle, two grenades and a large amount of ammunition. Most of the weapons were found in a large rucksack on the roof of one of the buildings in the complex. Others were found in closets and under a bed.
Saturday's brawl, during which 47-year-old Salman Azbarga was stabbed to death, erupted over the right to pray at a mosque on Herzl Street. Police say the Abu-Saluk family claims to own the mosque, and they control who enters. A member of the Abu-Saluk clan who was injured in the scuffle remains unconscious.
Due to the tensions, large police forces were deployed in the city to prevent acts of revenge.
"Since Saturday's murder we have been on operational alert, and large police forces are serving as a buffer between the clans, who reside next to one another," Lod Police Chief Superintendent Yossi Kedem said.
"We have no doubt that the Abu Saluks intended to use the weapons illegally to attack or to protect themselves," he added.