Israeli Made Bayonet Mk. 1A/M1949

[christek]

Greetings all,
I recently picked up this interesting bayonet. An Israeli manufactured MK. 1A for use on the k98 rifles. It is also known as a Model 1949.
Almost certainly based on the German bayonet, it is a sturdy weapon although not nearly as well made as the TR examples.
Regards

[Anderson]

An interesting historical item. The State of Israel was formed in 1948 and immediately they formed their armed forces. The K98 rifle was imported in large numbers, but why manufacture their own bayonet for it? I presume they were having difficulty obtaining the German made bayonets, though there must of mountains of bayonets from de-armed German forces post war.