What happened: Jordanian politician Imad Al-Adwan was arrested after he was caught smuggling almost 200 handguns and rifles at the Allenby Crossing on the Jordan River, from Jordan into the West Bank.
- He initially raised suspicions after he arrived by car at the border crossing on Saturday night with three large heavy suitcases.
- When taken for questioning he claimed that he was transferring gold, and that his parliamentary immunity would suffice.
- Following inspection of the bags, he was found to be smuggling 160 handguns and 17 M16 rifles, individually wrapped in cellophane.
- There are contradictory reports over whether he was also transferring any gold.
- He was taken for questioning by the Shin Bet Security Service where they will try and ascertain who gave him the guns and who was meant to be the recipient.
Context: There has been a significant increase of smuggling weapons from Jordan into the West Bank over the last year.
- However this appears to be the first instance of a Jordanian official involved. Though there is speculation that this was not the first time Al-Adwan had smuggled in weapons.
- Al-Adwan is a member of the Jordanian parliament’s Palestine committee. He is known as a strong supporter of the Palestinians and Hamas. He is 35 years old, from one of the Jordanian tribes in the south (not a Palestinian).
- The recent heavy proliferation of automatic weapons among Palestinian militias has increased the intensity of gun fights between Palestinians and the IDF (during IDF counter-terror operations). This has resulted in the deaths of dozens of young Palestinian combatants over the last year.
- This incident follows Ramadan that saw increased tension, particularly over the Jordan’s traditional custodial role over Muslim prayer on the Temple Mount.
- Israel and Jordan have been formally at peace since 1994, in that time there have been several security related incidents that have caused embarrassment and a rise in tension. This includes Israeli Mossad attempts to poison Hamas leader Khaled Mashal in 1997. In 2017 an Israeli Embassy security guard accidentally killed his Jordanian landlord with a stray bullet, following an alteration after he was stabbed by a young Palestinian. In this latest incident it’s the Jordanian side that may need to come up with some compensation.
- However, overall Israel and Jordanian security forces work in close cooperation on a range of shared security issues, including the threat from ISIS and other extremist groups and the integrity of their shared border.
- In the lead up to Ramadan Jordan hosted a summit in Aqaba, including senior Israeli, Palestinian, Jordanian, Egyptian and US officials, among a range of issues was improving security coordination.
Looking ahead: Jordanian diplomats are engaging with Israeli officials to try and secure his release.
- Israeli estimates believe he will be released after he has been questioned, with speculation over the terms and conditions that the Jordanians will pay in return.
- As in previous years, a general closure will be imposed upon the West Bank and the Gaza Strip from today until the end of Independence Day on Wednesday night.
- There remains a heightened state of alert with concerns over further attempted terror attacks.