Following weapons smuggling attempt, Israel to build security barrier on Jordan border

Israel will build a security barrier on its northern border with Jordan, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant announced on Monday, during a closed meeting with the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee.

According to a report from Army Radio, Gallant told the committee that “Iran and [Palestinian] terrorist organizations have identified Judea and Samaria as a weak spot" and will "direct many resources there for the purpose of attacks.”

“Looking ahead, we intend to erect a barrier on the border with Jordan, as well,” Gallant said.

The Israel Defense Forces and Shin Bet security agency announced on Monday that they had prevented a major smuggling attempt near the settlement of Ashdot Ya’akov near the Jordanian border.

The details of the operation are still under gag order, so little is known about the incident. However, the IDF said the smuggling attempt was intended to reach terror groups in Judea and Samaria, also known as the West Bank.

Security officials have pointed to the Jordanian border as a vulnerable spot when it comes to smuggling weapons and ammunition into Israel.

Earlier this year, a Jordanian parliament member was stopped by Israeli security forces while trying to bring weapons and money to terror groups in the Palestinian territories.

Because of the large amount of money being invested to acquire arms by groups like Hamas, the operational challenge has become more serious over the last year. Israel has faced a significant threat from weapons smuggling into Palestinian territories.

In May, Israel Border Police thwarted an attempt to smuggle weapons from Gaza into Judea and Samaria. The weapons were hidden inside of furniture.

Both the Hamas terror organization and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) have been trying to get more weapons into Palestinian territories in the West Bank to advance terror attacks from those territories.

Earlier this year, during its annual Quds Day (Al-Quds is Arabic for Jerusalem), Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Chief Hossein Salami seemed to refer to weapons being smuggled to Palestinian terror groups.

Salami said despite Israel’s fences and security systems “unseen hands armed the West Bank, and you have modern automatic rifles and automatic weapons in the hands of the Palestinians.”

During meetings with PIJ leaders in Tehran in June, the Islamic Republic reportedly promised to smuggle additional weapons into Judea and Samaria through Jordan.

While Israel has a peace agreement with the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, the majority of Jordanians are pro-Palestinian. The country has over 2 million people who claim Palestinian ancestry.