Israel officials arrest Jordan lawmaker for alleged weapons smuggling News
Ralf Roletschek, GFDL 1.2, via Wikimedia Commons
Israel officials arrest Jordan lawmaker for alleged weapons smuggling

Israeli officials Sunday arrested Jordanian parliament member Imad al-Adwan for allegedly smuggling over 200 weapons and an estimated six million dollars worth of gold into the West Bank. Jordanian Minister of Foreign Affairs Sinan al-Majali issued a statement saying that “the ministry and all relevant agencies in the kingdom are working to ascertain the details of this issue and address it as quickly as possible.”

Israel Foreign Minister Eli Cohen told Israeli news outlet Ynet that authorities will need to conduct a serious investigation into the matter. He added that although al-Adwan needs to be brought to justice, Israel does not blame the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan for al-Adwan’s activities. At this time, Israeli security services have prevented details of the incident and the current negotiations with Jordan from being broadcast to the public due to the intricate relationship Israel has with Jordan.

According to local news outlets, Israeli officials have reported an increase in arms smuggling into the West Bank and believe that arms are generally funneled to Palestinian terror groups. Israel has experienced an increase in violent attacks using rifles and other arms thought to be illegally smuggled into the region.

Amer al-Adwan, Imad al-Adwan’s brother, made a statement saying he would depend on the Jordanian government to bring his brother home.

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