The Jordanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs indicated yesterday, Sunday, that "Israel has arrested a deputy in the Jordanian parliament on suspicion of smuggling quantities of weapons and gold into the West Bank," noting that "Amman is working to secure his release."
Jordanian Foreign Ministry spokesman Sinan al-Majali stated in an official media release that "Israeli authorities stopped Imad al-Adwan, a member of parliament who crossed a main border crossing along the Jordan River earlier on Sunday by car, and are investigating him."
Al-Majali said, "The ministry, in collaboration with the relevant authorities in the Kingdom, is working to understand the details of the matter and address it as quickly as possible."
Prominent deputy Khalil Atiyeh, known for his strong opposition to Israel and leading campaigns to repeal the peace treaty with it, stated that "the government will bear responsibility if it does not act quickly," emphasizing that "we should not allow as Jordanians Israel, which practices all kinds of piracy and brutal criminal acts against our people, to assault us again as a people and government through the incident of the detention and arrest of one of our colleagues in the House of Representatives."
Israel maintains close security relations with Jordan, its Arab neighbor with which it shares the longest border; however, political relations have strained in recent years due to Israel's stance on the rights of Palestinians to establish a state.
