Israeli court extends detention of Jordanian lawmaker

By Saeed Amouri

JERUSALEM (AA) – An Israeli military court decided on Sunday to extend the detention of Jordanian lawmaker Imad Adwan for eight more days.

Israeli Army Radio said the military court in Ofer Prison in the central West Bank ordered to keep Adwan in custody for eight more days.

It, however, did not provide any details about the reason of the extension.

There was no comment from the Jordanian authorities on the Israeli court decision.

Adwan was arrested by Israel on April 23 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 declined to blame Jordan for the alleged smuggle attempt by the lawmaker.

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 Ikram Kouachi