Jordan’s ambassador visits lawmaker held by Israel for smuggling

By Laith Al-Jnaidi

AMMAN, Jordan (AA) – Jordan’s Ambassador to Israel Ghassan Majali on Tuesday visited a lawmaker held by Tel Aviv for allegedly smuggling weapons and gold into the occupied West Bank.

Majali said lawmaker Imad Adwan was in good health and “was not subjected to any physical or psychological abuse,” the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

According to the statement, the envoy spoke with the detained lawmaker on the circumstances of his arrest and interrogation, "and made sure that the conditions of his detention respect his legal and human rights."

The Jordanian media said Sunday that Adwan was arrested by Israeli police for allegedly attempting to smuggle weapons and gold at the Allenby Bridge border crossing (also known as the King Hussein Bridge) between Jordan and the West Bank.

On Monday, Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen described the incident as "very serious," adding that the Jordanian lawmaker must be brought to justice.

Tension has been running high between Israel and Jordan in recent months against the backdrop of Israeli escalation in the Al-Aqsa Mosque complex in occupied East Jerusalem.

In 1994, Jordan and Israel signed the Wadi Araba peace treaty, which brought an end to the state of war between the two countries since the first Arab-Israeli war in 1948.

* Writing by Ahmed Asmar