JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Israel’s foreign minister called on Monday for the prosecution of a Jordanian lawmaker held on suspicion of trying to smuggle weapons into the occupied West Bank.
Sunday’s arrest of Imad al Adwan at an Israeli-controlled border crossing threatened new strains on the neighbours’ almost three-decade-old relations, often tested by Israel’s policies toward the Palestinians and a major Jerusalem mosque.
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,” Foreign Minister Eli 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.
Israel enjoys close security ties with Jordan, the Arab neighbour it shares its longest stretch of border with, but political relations have soured in recent years. Many of the kingdom’s citizens are of Palestinian origin.
(Writing by Dan Williams; Editing by Bernadette Baum)
