South Front
Click to see full-size image. Source: the Israeli Defense Forces.
On April 16, the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) and Police foiled an attempt to smuggle 15 handguns from Jordan into Israel.
The IDF said in a statement that soldiers monitoring surveillance cameras spotted two vehicles and suspicious movement near the town of Neve Ur on the border with Jordan. Army troops and police officers were quickly dispatched to the scene, where they catched one of the cars.
Three men were detained, and the 15 handguns in their possession were seized. The suspects and weapons are handed over to police for further investigation.
Israel’s 309-kilometer border line with Jordan is poorly guarded and fortified, unlike more sensitive fronts with Egypt, Syria and Lebanon. This, coupled with the high demands for arms in the occupied West Bank and other nearby Palestinian areas, made the border a key channel for weapons trafficking.
Last year, the IDF and police foiled dozens of smuggling attempts from Jordan and seized more than 480 weapons, most of which were handguns.
Tensions between Israel and the Palestinians have been high for a while now. At least 92 Palestinians have been killed by the IDF and police since the beginning of the year. Attacks carried out by Palestinians left 18 Israelis dead during the same period.
