Israel releases Jordan lawmaker said to have smuggled guns

By TIA GOLDENBERG
Associated Press

TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Israel’s Shin Bet security agency says Israeli authorities have released a Jordanian lawmaker to his home country after he allegedly tried smuggling dozens of rifles and handguns through an Israeli-controlled border crossing. The legislator’s arrest threatened to further strain ties between Israel and neighboring Jordan, which have had tense relations over recent years despite a nearly three-decade-old peace treaty. Israel viewed the incident as serious, but Al-Adwan’s release Sunday signaled it was hoping to put the potentially combustible affair behind it. The occupied West Bank has seen a surge in violence over the past year. Israel says the area has been flooded with illegal weapons, including guns smuggled from neighboring Jordan.