Israel arrests pro-terror Jordanian lawmaker caught smuggling massive amount of weapons, valuables

To date, Israel has remained silent on the incident.

By World Israel News Staff

Amman’s Foreign Ministry has confirmed that a Jordanian lawmaker was arrested by Israel on Saturday night after being caught smuggling hundreds of weapons and massive amounts of gold into Israel.

The lawmaker, identified as Imad Al-Adwan, was said to have been arrested crossing the Allenby Bridge border crossing, located approximately five kilometers east of the Palestinian Authority-administered city of Jericho, Jordanian media reported Sunday.

Diplomats do not normally undergo inspection, but in this case, customs officials reportedly were given an intelligence warning.

According to the Jordanian ministry’s spokesman, officials are following the case “to find out the merits of the situation and address it as soon as possible.”

Al-Adwan is on record for praising the Hamas terrorist group and calling for “resistance” against the “Zionist enemy.”

Israel’s Foreign Ministry has declined comment. However, Israel’s Kan news reports that Jordan’s Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi would not answer calls from his Israeli counterpart Eli Cohen regarding the incident.

There has been a surge in violence over the past year. Israel says the Palestinian areas of Judea and Samaria have been flooded with illegal weapons, including guns smuggled from neighboring Jordan.

The latest incident threatens to further strain what already are tense relations between Jordan and the Jewish state. According to Hebrew-language Maariv, Jordanian MP Khalil Atieh has demanded Al-Adwan’s immediate release.

Earlier this month, King Abdullah II told Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas that “every Muslim” should deter “Israeli escalations” in Jerusalem.

Jordan controlled Judea and Samaria and eastern Jerusalem between 1948 – when the Kingdom and other surrounding Arab countries attacked the fledgling Jewish state – until the 1967 Six-Day War, when Israel, in a war of defense, regained the territories. Jordan, however, retained custodianship of the Al-Aqsa Mosque on the Temple Mount.

Jordan and Israel have maintained a cold peace, including security collaboration, since signing an agreement in 1994.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Allenby BridgeIsrael-Jordan relationsJudea and SamariaPalestinian terrorSmuggling