IDF and Police Foil Major Weapon Smuggling Attempt on Eastern Border

IDF forces, the Israel Police, and Border Police thwarted an attempt to smuggle 36 weapons across the eastern border near the Adam Bridge early Friday morning. Two suspects in their 50s, residents of Jericho, were arrested after officers seized 34 handguns and two M-16 rifles in their possession.

The operation began after spotters from the Jordan Valley Brigade identified suspicious indicators overnight pointing to a planned smuggling attempt along the Jordanian border. Forces from the Jordan and Valleys Brigade, including fighters from the Jordan Lions Battalion, alongside officers from the Judea and Samaria District's Jordan Border Unit, Matalan Border Police, and the Marol Unit, were dispatched to the area.

Troops set up ambushes and deployed technological means until the two suspects were identified and apprehended. The seized weaponry and the suspects were transferred to the Judea and Samaria District's Central Unit for further investigation. A military official praised the alertness of the spotters, who directed forces to the suspects and ensured the seizure of the contraband.

Security officials assess that the weapons were intended for terror groups in the West Bank, though police note that such smuggling operations also frequently serve criminal organizations in the Arab sector.

Judea and Samaria District Commander, Deputy Commissioner Moshe Finchi, commended the inter-agency cooperation, stating that establishing the Jordan Border Unit and expanding operations in the Jordan Valley align with a clear strategy to reinforce operational control on the eastern border, intercept threats early, and thwart weapon smuggling before reaching West Bank operatives or criminal syndicates. Police emphasized that operations along the eastern border continue amid high security readiness for the upcoming holidays.