Indignation simmers in Jordan over Israel’s arrest of ‘national hero’

ByNews Desk- The Cradle 

Jordanian MPs are calling for the immediate release of Imad al-Adwan who was detained for allegedly trying to smuggle weapons and gold into the West Bank

Jordanian members of parliament (MP) have said that the arrest of fellow parliamentarian Imad al-Adwan by Israeli authorities Sunday was “politically motivated” and are urging the government to do everything possible to secure his release.

“We consider him a national hero, and we stand with him. We support that all the efforts are taken to release him safely to his family,” Jordanian MP Khalil Attieh told reporters on 24 April.

The lawmakers also drew parallels to a 2017 incident when an Israeli embassy guard shot and killed two Jordanians after being stabbed by a screwdriver.

“When the Israeli guard killed Jordanians in Amman, they sent him back to his country on the very same day. The [Jordanian] government should not spare any efforts,” Attieh said.

Over the weekend, Hebrew media outlets reported that Adwan was arrested at King Hussein Bridge on charges of allegedly attempting to smuggle weapons and about 100kg of gold into the occupied West Bank.

“I don’t think that the episode is connected to Jordan in general, but to an irresponsible criminal act,” said Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen in an interview with Ynet on Monday.

Adwan sits on the Jordanian parliament’s Palestine Committee, which monitors Israeli human rights violations in the occupied Palestinian territories. His brother, Amer Adwan, on Monday said the Adwan tribe was confident that Jordanian authorities were doing their utmost to free him.

“The details are still unclear of exactly what happened. All the details are limited to the back-channels, between the two countries to see what can be done. But there are a lot of question marks,” Oraib Rantawi, the founder of the Amman-based Al-Quds Center for Political Studies, told Jordanian media.

Israel and Jordan have long-standing security ties, established after Amman normalized ties with Tel Aviv in 1994. However, political relations have soured in recent years over Israel’s violent attacks on Muslim holy sites and the imposition of an apartheid state in the occupied territories.