Israeli security forces thwart weapon-smuggling operation from Jordan

Israeli security forces thwarted a gun-running attempt along the Israeli-Jordanian border, seizing some 15 weapons and making one arrest in the process, the military said Thursday.

Overnight, Israeli soldiers operating surveillance cameras along the border spotted suspects “who tried to smuggle weapons from Jordanian territory into Israeli territory,” the Israel Defense Forces said in a statement.

IDF soldiers, Israel Police officers and border guards were sent to the scene and took one of the suspects into custody, along with the weaponry, the statement said.

The IDF said troops seized eight shotguns, three Kalashnikov assault rifles, two pistols and an M-16 carbine.

The suspect and the guns were handed over to Israel Police for further investigation, the IDF said, noting that the suspect was Palestinian.

In June, a soldier was moderately wounded by friendly fire while preventing a gun smuggling attempt on the Jordanian border, during which the military said troops seized 21 guns along with ammunition. Troops also arrested three smugglers.

Illustrative: An Israeli military jeep patrols along the Jordanian border, May 6, 2015. (Moshe Shai/Flash90)

Last month police thwarted an operation to smuggle drugs and weapons from Lebanon, potentially on behalf of the Hezbollah terrorist organization. Hezbollah has long maintained control over the area adjacent to the border with Israel and is unlikely to be unaware of smuggling operations. The terror group is known to fund its activities through drug sales around the world, including producing large amounts of hashish in eastern Lebanon.