Israel has arrested Jordanian parliamentarian Imad al-Adwan on suspicion of smuggling weapons and gold into the West Bank, the foreign ministry in Amman said Sunday.
The ministry shared the news in a statement, which read that it was working with other Jordanian agencies to resolve the matter as soon as possible. "The ministry, in coordination with all concerned authorities, is looking into the case of Representative Imad al-Adwan, who was detained by the Israeli authorities for interrogation over the alleged smuggling of quantities of weapons and gold," it read.
Meanwhile, Israeli police have issued a gag order on the case, blocking some of the details from being published by Israeli news outlets. On Monday Ynet cited an unnamed Israeli security source as saying the incident was a "very disturbing event because it involves a large number of firearms smuggled by a diplomat.’’ The source reportedly added that Israel wishes to avoid any crisis with Amman.
Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen told Ynet on Monday that the affair was still being clarified. "There was intelligence on possible smuggling into Israel," he added. Cohen said he did not blame the Jordanian government but added that the incident was serious.
