Jordan Affirms that Arrested Lawmaker in Israel Not Subject to Abusive Practices

Jordanian lawmaker Imad al-Adwan (Lawmaker Imad al-Adwan's social media account)
Jordanian lawmaker Imad al-Adwan (Lawmaker Imad al-Adwan's social media account)
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Jordan Affirms that Arrested Lawmaker in Israel Not Subject to Abusive Practices

Jordanian lawmaker Imad al-Adwan (Lawmaker Imad al-Adwan's social media account)
Jordanian lawmaker Imad al-Adwan (Lawmaker Imad al-Adwan's social media account)

Jordan's Foreign Ministry affirmed that lawmaker Imad al-Adwan, who was arrested by Israeli authorities a few days ago for allegedly smuggling weapons and gold, is in good health and not subjected to any abusive practices, physically or psychologically.

The deputy, who does not enjoy immunity outside of Jordan, asked to reassure his family that he is in good health.

The ministry spokesman, Sinan Majali, said in a press statement Tuesday that the Jordanian ambassador to Tel Aviv, Ghassan al-Majali, spoke in detail with Adwan about the circumstances of his arrest and the interrogation and made sure that the conditions of his detention respect his legal and human rights.

He pointed out that Majali, accompanied by the consul at the embassy, visited Adwan within the ministry's efforts in coordination with the concerned authorities to review the case and ensure his arrest conditions and investigation procedures met the international laws and conventions.

The case of Adwan remains unclear at a time when his family's tribe issued a statement confirming its absolute confidence in the government's efforts to ensure his return.

Amer Zaidan al-Adwan, the brother of the arrested deputy, issued a statement thanking Jordanian King Abdullah II, the government, and all Jordanians for their efforts to end the issue.

Jordanian sources stated that local authorities were interrogating Adwan's close friends and family members concerning the information about the alleged smuggling of weapons and gold through the Allenby Bridge into the occupied West Bank in his car.

Security authorities are trying to investigate the quantities and sources of weapons as Israel continues to interrogate the MP. Tel Aviv is also preventing any publication of the case.

Jordanian sources confirmed the reports that Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi refused to receive a call from his Israeli counterpart Eli Cohen.

They asserted that Jordan wants to keep the case within the security channels away from attempts to politicize the matter.

Relations between Amman and Tel Aviv are witnessing diplomatic tensions after the Israeli escalation and the continuous violations by extremists of Islamic and Christian sanctities in Jerusalem.

The Bar Association said the Zionist entity has no legal or judicial authority to prosecute Adwan. The syndicate instructed affiliated Jerusalemite lawyers to follow up on the case and support the lawmaker until his release.

The Foreign Ministry confirmed earlier that it was coordinating with all concerned parties and working with all relevant agencies in the kingdom to ascertain the details of this issue and address it as quickly as possible.

The official statement did not address any procedures related to the incident or send a human rights team to follow up on the reasons for his arrest.

Last Sunday, Jordanian sources confirmed that Adwan had packed the weapons and gold in his car, which carries a parliament license plate, and traveled into the Palestinian interior across the border, amid official estimates that the case could be politicized.

The sources verified the information circulated about the charge of seizing quantities of weapons and gold in his car amid fears that the Israeli side would exploit the matter.

Meanwhile, the House of Representatives still refuses to comment on the issue, and parliamentary sources justified the delay pending further clarification about the incident.

They noted that the parliament was coordinating with the Foreign Ministry and discussing all the developments.

Israeli media claimed Sunday that the Israeli authorities seized three bags containing 12 machine guns, 270 medium- and small-sized weapons, and 100kg of gold,



Hamas Says Ready to Free All Hostages at Once in Gaza Truce Phase Two

The sun sets behind heavily damaged residential buildings in Jabalia in the northern Gaza Strip on February 17, 2025, as people return to northern parts of Gaza during a current ceasefire deal in the war between Israel and Hamas. (AFP)
The sun sets behind heavily damaged residential buildings in Jabalia in the northern Gaza Strip on February 17, 2025, as people return to northern parts of Gaza during a current ceasefire deal in the war between Israel and Hamas. (AFP)
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Hamas Says Ready to Free All Hostages at Once in Gaza Truce Phase Two

The sun sets behind heavily damaged residential buildings in Jabalia in the northern Gaza Strip on February 17, 2025, as people return to northern parts of Gaza during a current ceasefire deal in the war between Israel and Hamas. (AFP)
The sun sets behind heavily damaged residential buildings in Jabalia in the northern Gaza Strip on February 17, 2025, as people return to northern parts of Gaza during a current ceasefire deal in the war between Israel and Hamas. (AFP)

Hamas signaled on Wednesday that it was willing to free all remaining hostages held in Gaza in a single swap during the next phase of an ongoing ceasefire.  

Israel and Hamas are currently in the process of implementing phase one of the fragile truce, which has held since taking effect on January 19 despite accusations of violations on both sides.  

Israel's foreign minister said on Tuesday that talks would begin "this week" on the second phase, which is expected to lay out a more permanent end to the war.

"We have informed the mediators that Hamas is ready to release all hostages in one batch during the second phase of the agreement, rather than in stages as in the current first phase," senior Hamas official Taher al-Nunu told AFP.

He did not clarify how many hostages were currently being held by Hamas or other armed groups.  

Nunu said this step was meant "to confirm our seriousness and complete readiness to move forward in resolving this issue, as well as to continue steps towards cementing the ceasefire and achieving a sustainable truce".  

Under the ceasefire's first phase, 19 Israeli hostages have been released so far in exchange for more than 1,100 Palestinian prisoners freed from Israeli jails in a series of Red Cross-mediated swaps.  

Wednesday's offer came after Israel and Hamas announced a deal for the return of all six remaining living hostages eligible for release under phase one in a single swap this weekend.  

Hamas also agreed on Tuesday to return the bodies of eight dead hostages in two groups this week and next.  

After the completion of the first phase, 58 hostages will remain in Gaza.  

The armed wing of Palestinian Islamic Jihad said on Wednesday that it would release the body of Israeli hostage Oded Lifshitz on Thursday. The group said Lifshitz was one of the hostages killed during Israeli strikes on Gaza.  

- 'Room to pressure Hamas' -  

Muhammad Shehada, of the European Council on Foreign Relations, said that after more than a year of devastating Israeli assault in Gaza, "Hamas wants to prevent the war resuming at any cost", albeit with some "red lines".  

"And one of those red lines is that they should continue to exist, basically, whereas (Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu's position is that they should dismantle themselves," he said.  

Since the start of the war, Netanyahu has vowed to destroy Hamas's capacity to fight or govern, something the group has rejected.  

But the appearance that Washington is now in complete alignment with Netanyahu's government, as displayed by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio's visit this week, strengthened the Israeli premier's hand in negotiations, according to Michael Horowitz, an expert at the risk management consultancy Le Beck International.  

It gives Netanyahu "more room to pressure Hamas", Horowitz said, adding that US President Donald Trump "prefers that the agreement moves forward, but he's leaving the field open to Netanyahu... as long as the ceasefire is maintained".  

- 'Held onto hope' -

Among the bodies Hamas said it would hand over on Thursday are those of Shiri Bibas and her two young sons, Kfir and Ariel, who have become national symbols in Israel of the hostages' ordeal.  

The boys' father Yarden Bibas was taken hostage separately on October 7, 2023, and was released alive during an earlier hostage-prisoner swap.  

While Hamas said Shiri Bibas and her boys were killed in an Israeli air strike early in the war, Israel has never confirmed this, and many supporters remain unconvinced of their deaths, including members of the Bibas family.  

"I ask that no one eulogize my family just yet. We have held onto hope for 16 months, and we are not giving up now," the boys' aunt, Ofri Bibas, wrote on Facebook late Tuesday following Hamas's announcement.  

Israeli authorities have confirmed that the remains of four hostages are due to be returned on Thursday, although they have not officially named them.  

The International Committee of the Red Cross, which has acted as go-between in the exchanges, called for a respectful handover of the hostages' remains.  

"We once again call for all releases to be conducted in a private and dignified manner, including when they tragically involve the deceased," it said.  

Hamas and its allies took 251 people hostage during the October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, of whom 70 remain in Gaza, including 35 the Israeli military says are dead.  

The attack resulted in the deaths of 1,211 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of Israeli official figures.  

Israel's retaliatory campaign has killed at least 48,297 people in Gaza, the majority of them civilians, according to figures from the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory that the United Nations considers reliable.  

Since the war began, Israeli forces have detained hundreds of Gazans, some of whom have been released in previous rounds of hostage-prisoner exchanges.