Israel Seizes 300 Pieces of Weapons at Israeli-Arab Border

Handguns and ammunition seized by the Israeli military on the border with Jordan, Aug. 27, 2022. Credit: Israeli army.
Handguns and ammunition seized by the Israeli military on the border with Jordan, Aug. 27, 2022. Credit: Israeli army.
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Israel Seizes 300 Pieces of Weapons at Israeli-Arab Border

Handguns and ammunition seized by the Israeli military on the border with Jordan, Aug. 27, 2022. Credit: Israeli army.
Handguns and ammunition seized by the Israeli military on the border with Jordan, Aug. 27, 2022. Credit: Israeli army.

The Israeli military announced on Sunday that nearly 300 pieces of weapons and 2 tons of drugs have been confiscated at the Israeli-Arab border.

An Israeli army spokesperson said that different armed organizations are working closely with arms and drug dealers in the smuggling operations.

This cooperation led in 2022 to an increase in the number of attempts to smuggle drugs and weapons into Israeli territory, but it also led to more monitoring and an increase in the number of thwarted smuggling operations along the borders, according to the spokesperson.

In 2020 and 2021 combined, there were a total of 21 thwarted smuggling attempts, resulting in approximately the same number of weapons being seized, according to the Israeli army.

In 2022, the Israeli military thwarted 35 smuggling operations, including 18 attempts to smuggle weapons across the Jordanian border, with approximately 300 weapons being seized.

Earlier this year, the military and police stepped up efforts to halt smuggling attempts along the Jordanian and Egyptian borders.

On Sunday, the Israeli army said it had beefed up defenses on its borders, as well as increased its surveillance efforts, and improved its means of transportation, in order to better foil smuggling attempts.

Moreover, the army, police and Shin Bet security agency have established joint operation rooms enabling them to produce accurate intelligence in real-time and formulate a united and joint operative response to the challenges and smuggling attempts.

Brigadier General Meir Biderman, head of the Jordan Valley Brigade, said the brigade’s forces, including the fighters of the Lions of the Jordan Valley Battalion, the Lioness of the Valley battalion, and the Nitzan-636 battalion are operating day and night to protect the eastern borders of Israel.

He said the brigade’s work relies on a deep partnership among security services including the police, the border guards, and the public security agency, which increases the effectiveness of the work.

For his part, Colonel Ido Saad, head of the Faran Brigade along the Egyptian border said that his brigade has been working constantly to prevent criminal activity on the western border of the state of Israel.



Two US Congressmen Introduce Bill to Free Iraq from Iran

Members of Iraq's Shiite Muslim Al-Nujaba movement wave the Palestinian flag during a rally in Baghdad on October 8, 2023 (AFP)
Members of Iraq's Shiite Muslim Al-Nujaba movement wave the Palestinian flag during a rally in Baghdad on October 8, 2023 (AFP)
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Two US Congressmen Introduce Bill to Free Iraq from Iran

Members of Iraq's Shiite Muslim Al-Nujaba movement wave the Palestinian flag during a rally in Baghdad on October 8, 2023 (AFP)
Members of Iraq's Shiite Muslim Al-Nujaba movement wave the Palestinian flag during a rally in Baghdad on October 8, 2023 (AFP)

Two US congressmen introduced the “Free Iraq from Iran” bill this week, to diminish Tehran’s influence in Baghdad and to support its independence.

“Grateful to introduce this bipartisan bill with colleague Jimmy Panetta (D-CA),” Representative Joe Wilson (R-SC) wrote on his X account.

The new bill says that in 180 days, the Secretary of State, in conjunction with the Secretary of the Treasury, and the CEO of the US Agency for Global Media, shall develop and submit to Congress a strategy to support the efforts of the Iraqi people in countering Iran in Iraq and countering Iranian backed puppet militias in Iraq.

This strategy shall include a description of efforts to dismantle all Iran-backed puppet militias in Iraq, including the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), and to end US security assistance to the Iraqi government until Iraq removes Iranian-backed puppet militias from its security forces.

The bill also calls on providing support to Iraqi civil society actors and opposition groups to enhance their security and operational capabilities, and to expand and enhance American broadcasting efforts in Iraq to uncover war crimes and corruption of Iranian backed puppet militias in Iraq.

Several Iraqi circles, including members of the Coordination Framework, said Wilson's bill will not secure a majority of votes in Congress. However, they feared the undesirable consequences of any US strikes on Iran, especially as Tehran has lately started to abandon its allies in the region.

Last month, Iran's supreme leader Ali Khamenei said Iran does not have any proxy forces in the region.

On Thursday, The Telegraph wrote that Iran has ordered military personnel to leave Yemen, abandoning its Houthi allies as the US escalates an airstrike campaign against the group.

Senior Iraqi pro-government officials are concerned about a potential conflict between Washington and Tehran and have argued with their opponents about how to prepare for such possible war.

Iraq will be the first to suffer from such conflict, the officials said.

In return, pro-Iranian Iraqi officials say a regional war will not have major repercussions on their country. They say some political forces were using such assumptions as part of their campaigns to prepare for the general elections scheduled later this year.

Threatening US Bases

Meanwhile, Najaf-based Iraqi Shiite cleric Sadr al Din al Qabanji warned that US bases in Iraq are within the striking range of Iran and Iranian-backed Iraqi militias.

During his Friday sermon, Qabanji urged US President Donald Trump not to start or threaten war, referring to Trump’s threat to bomb Iran if Iran does not agree to a new nuclear deal.

Amid the escalating tension between Washington and Tehran and the ongoing US strikes on Houthis in Yemen, the Pentagon said it has reinforced US military capability in the Middle East with more warplanes.

On Monday, Khamenei ruled out any foreign attack on this country but said the US would receive a strong blow if Trump followed through with his threats.

“The enmity from the US and Israel has always been there. They threaten to attack us, which we don’t think is very probable, but if they commit any mischief they will surely receive a strong reciprocal blow,” Khamenei said.

On Friday, Iraqi Prime Minister Muhammed Shia Al-Sudani said his government has preserved Iraq’s stability through wise and responsible leadership, preventing the country from being dragged into regional conflict.

He added that some impulsive voices called for Iraq to engage in war and conflict. “Iraq’s and the Iraqi people’s interests are our top priority. There is no room for compromise, whether with internal or external actors,” the PM said.