Israeli Forces Stop Largest-Ever Gun Smuggling on Jordan Border

By Yoni Weiss

Police announced Thursday that they had thwarted the smuggling of 137 firearms, marking the most extensive arms interception on the Jordanian border to date. Officers and IDF personnel collaborated to prevent the attempt to transport these weapons from Jordan into Israel.

For several months, the Magen anti-smuggling unit within the police force has been tracking a firearms trafficking network involved in multiple endeavors to bring guns across the Jordanian border. Last Thursday, near the southern town of Tzofar, unit members alerted additional forces after uncovering an imminent weapons transfer operation.

Responding troops observed a vehicle approaching the border from the Israeli side and initiated pursuit. Following the chase, authorities apprehended four suspects, including the alleged ringleader, all residents of Bedouin communities in the Yerucham area, aged in their 20s and 30s.

During the operation, law enforcement discovered a cache of 137 firearms, comprising 120 handguns, 17 M-16 assault rifles, numerous weapon components, and around 250 magazines. The overall estimated value of the seized weaponry amounts to NIS 6 million ($1.6 million).

Israel faces a persistent challenge in curbing weapons smuggling, especially along its extensive and porous eastern border shared with Jordan, as well as in Yehudah and Shomron. Authorities suspect that a majority of these firearms are utilized for criminal activities in the underworld and have pledged to halt the longstanding violence within the Arab community.