Intelligence Info Led to Israel's Arrest of Jordanian MP in West Bank

Jordanian MP Imad al-Adwan. (Al-Adwan's Twitter page)
Jordanian MP Imad al-Adwan. (Al-Adwan's Twitter page)
TT
20

Intelligence Info Led to Israel's Arrest of Jordanian MP in West Bank

Jordanian MP Imad al-Adwan. (Al-Adwan's Twitter page)
Jordanian MP Imad al-Adwan. (Al-Adwan's Twitter page)

Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen said on Monday that the arrest of Jordanian MP Imad al-Adwan, who is suspected of smuggling weapons to the West Bank, was "based on intelligence information."

Sunday's arrest at an Israeli-controlled border crossing threatened new strains on relations between Israel and Jordan that are often tested by Israel's policies toward the Palestinians and the al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem.

The Amman foreign ministry said al-Adwan was suspected of trying to smuggle arms and gold. Israeli police said only that a "security investigation" was underway.

"This is a very grave incident ... an attempt to smuggle not just commercial goods but weaponry as well," Cohen told Israel's Ynet TV.

"The basic demand is for him to be put on trial and pay the price," he said. "Such an incident cannot be allowed to pass."

There have been calls in Jordan's parliament for al-Adwan to be repatriated. Asked if Israel might make this conditional on a guarantee that he would face charges at home, Cohen said only that the two governments were discussing the matter.

"I don't necessarily think that this thing (al-Adwan's case) is linked to Jordan as a whole, but rather, comes down to a foolhardy criminal act," he said. "I don't want to ascribe blame to the entire government or entire parliament" of Jordan.

Jordanian sources had confirmed that al-Adwan had packed the weapons and gold in his car that holds a parliament license plate. He was traveling along the Allenby Bridge headed towards Palestinian territories.

Israeli media said the Shabak was investigating whether this was al-Adwan's first alleged smuggling attempt. It was probing who the arms were being delivered to, such as Palestinian factions.



Israeli Strikes Kill 12 in Lebanon, including 5 Hezbollah Fighters

Women walk near destroyed buildings, with one holding the flag of Hezbollah, in the southern Lebanese village of Kfar Kila, after an Israeli military spokesperson said that Israel would keep troops in several posts in southern Lebanon past the deadline for them to withdraw, February 18, 2025 - Reuters reported.
Women walk near destroyed buildings, with one holding the flag of Hezbollah, in the southern Lebanese village of Kfar Kila, after an Israeli military spokesperson said that Israel would keep troops in several posts in southern Lebanon past the deadline for them to withdraw, February 18, 2025 - Reuters reported.
TT
20

Israeli Strikes Kill 12 in Lebanon, including 5 Hezbollah Fighters

Women walk near destroyed buildings, with one holding the flag of Hezbollah, in the southern Lebanese village of Kfar Kila, after an Israeli military spokesperson said that Israel would keep troops in several posts in southern Lebanon past the deadline for them to withdraw, February 18, 2025 - Reuters reported.
Women walk near destroyed buildings, with one holding the flag of Hezbollah, in the southern Lebanese village of Kfar Kila, after an Israeli military spokesperson said that Israel would keep troops in several posts in southern Lebanon past the deadline for them to withdraw, February 18, 2025 - Reuters reported.

Heavy Israeli airstrikes killed 12 people, including five Hezbollah fighters, in eastern Lebanon on Tuesday, a security source in Lebanon said, in what Israel said was a warning to the Iran-backed group against trying to re-establish itself.

The Israeli military said the airstrikes targeted training camps used by elite Hezbollah fighters and warehouses it used to store weapons in the Bekaa Valley region of eastern Lebanon.

The airstrikes were the deadliest on the area since a US-brokered ceasefire between Lebanon and Israel last November. Bachir Khodr, governor of the Bekaa region, said seven of the dead were Syrian nationals.

Israel dealt Hezbollah heavy blows in last year's conflict, killing its leader Hassan Nasrallah along with other commanders and destroying much of its arsenal.

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said Tuesday's strikes sent a "clear message" to Hezbollah, accusing it of planning to rebuild the capability to raid Israel through the elite Radwan force, Reuters reported.

Israel "will respond with maximum force to any attempt at rebuilding", he said. He added that strikes were also a message to the Lebanese government, saying it was responsible for upholding the ceasefire agreement.

There was no immediate public response from Hezbollah or from the Lebanese government to the latest Israeli strikes.

The United States has submitted a proposal to the Lebanese government aimed at securing Hezbollah's disarmament within four months in exchange for Israel halting airstrikes and withdrawing troops from positions they still hold in south Lebanon.

Under the terms of the ceasefire brokered by the US and France, Lebanon's armed forces were to confiscate "all unauthorized arms", beginning in the area south of the Litani River - the zone closest to Israel.