A Mysterious Deal: What Does It Mean for ‘Israel’ to Release a Jordanian Parliament Member?

After being detained and imprisoned in “Israel” for nearly two weeks since April 23, 2023, on charges of “smuggling gold and weapons” to the Palestinian Resistance in the West Bank, Israeli authorities handed over Jordanian MP Imad al-Adwan to Amman on May 7, 2023.

A senior Israeli official told Channel 14 in Hebrew on May 7 that the agreement reached between “Israel” General Security Service Shin Bet and Jordan’s intelligence agency was to arrest the deputy and imprison him upon his return to his country and to try him.

The Israeli official confirmed that one of the agreement conditions was that Jordan’s intelligence agency would share the information that would appear in the investigation with “Israel.”

Therefore, and before the Jordanian MP Imad al-Adwan could set foot in his country, the Jordanian parliament lifted his immunity to allow his investigation and trial at the request of “Israel.”

Jordan’s acquiescence to the conditions of “Israel” of stripping the MP of his immunity, detaining and trying him, raised questions about the “deal” struck between the two sides, its terms, and the secret behind accepting the arrest of a Jordanian MP for two weeks and then punishing him after his return with a trial before a military court.

Activists questioned how the Jordanian government remained silent about his arrest for two weeks and accepted the Israeli Occupation’s narrative, while Jordan handed over the Israeli embassy guard in Amman immediately and without investigating him in 2017, even though he shot and killed two Jordanians?

The arrest of al-Adwan created significant tensions between Amman and Tel Aviv, to the point that Jordan’s foreign minister, Ayman Safadi, refused to take a phone call from his Israeli counterpart, Yair Lapid, despite the intermediaries who intervened, according to the Israeli official broadcasting authority, on April 23, 2023.

 

Mysterious Circumstances

The case of MP al-Adwan, 36, is mysterious, as he is known to be a supporter of the Palestinian Resistance Movement. It is said that he was arrested while entering the West Bank through the “Israeli borders” after an anonymous report confirmed that he was smuggling weapons for the Palestinian Resistance, according to media and activists.

The mystery deepened with Israeli newspapers publishing conflicting information, quoting Zionist officials, claiming that the MP was smuggling birds and contraband into the occupied Palestinian territories, although they only published pictures of weapons as evidence.

Later, the publication of information regarding the case was banned.

On May 7, Haaretz reported that the Shin Bet (The Israel Security Agency) had arrested al-Adwan after his involvement in smuggling weapons through the King Hussein Bridge (Allenby Bridge) between Jordan and “Israel,” including 12 rifles and 194 handguns.

When “Israel” initially arrested him, they spoke about weapons smuggling and focused on it as a security breach, attributing responsibility to the Jordanian government.

However, the statement from the Shin Bet also claimed that MP al-Adwan carried out 12 smuggling operations for various goods into the West Bank, including birds, pigeons, e-cigarettes, and gold, taking advantage of his diplomatic passport to achieve financial gains.

When the Israeli military court extended al-Adwan’s detention a week before his handover, there was no mention of the gold smuggling charge, unlike the initial narrative.

The Israeli army radio quoted an unnamed senior security official stating that security relations with Jordan are extensive and much more important than the case of MP al-Adwan.

When the MP was handed over to Jordan, an Israeli official told the Hebrew website, Walla, on May 7: “The talk revolves around greed, not a national security event or involvement in terrorism, and all the smuggling was criminal.”

 

Was there a Deal?

On the other hand, Palestinian analyst Adnan Abu Amer pointed out “the outlines of a deal” that became apparent. According to this deal, the Israeli Occupation released MP Imad al-Adwan in exchange for Jordanian security agencies arresting a number of individuals involved in the alleged weapons smuggling operation to the West Bank.

As part of this deal, the Jordanian parliament immediately voted, by a majority, to lift the immunity of al-Adwan.

Meanwhile, Roy Sharon, an analyst from the Hebrew channel KAN, stated that the deal includes Jordan accepting the investigation and trial of the MP in exchange for his handover, with the Jordanian intelligence providing “Israel” with the investigation results.

Sharon further added that what matters to “Israel” is putting an end to the smuggling of weapons to the Palestinian Resistance in the West Bank, claiming that al-Adwan confessed to transferring weapons to a Palestinian individual in the West Bank, leading to his subsequent arrest by “Israel.”

Haaretz confirmed that several other individuals were arrested by the Shin Bet in the West Bank on suspicion of their involvement in smuggling efforts with the Jordanian MP.

The official Israeli broadcasting corporation stated that Palestinians were also arrested in this case in the West Bank.

In Jordan, the authorities arrested five individuals accused of involvement in smuggling operations with al-Adwan, according to Jordanian newspapers.

 

Exploiting the Case

Israeli Channel 14 reported on April 25 that Israeli General, Tal Bar-on, called for leveraging the arrest of Imad al-Adwan to make a deal with Jordan and achieve political gains for “Israel.”

Observers considered his leaked statements as indications of a potential deal.

He suggested that in exchange for al-Adwan’s return to Jordan, various issues could be negotiated. These included the restoration of metal detectors (surveillance devices) at the gates of al-Aqsa Mosque, which “Israel” had previously removed in 2017 under Jordanian and international pressure to appease public anger in Jordan.

Additionally, he proposed negotiations to reach new agreements with the Jordanian Minister of Awqaf regarding al-Aqsa Mosque, considering it as an executive branch of the kingdom throughout the mosque.

According to his claim, these agreements would involve allowing Jews to bring their religious symbols, such as the tallit (a prayer shawl), kippah (a small head covering), and shofar (a ram’s horn blown during prayers), into the al-Aqsa.

The general called for not preventing Jewish rabbis from carrying leather straps known as tefillin (a small leather box containing prayer scrolls for the head and left arm) on flights departing from Jordan’s airports.

He revealed an incident where Jordanian security officials barred Rabbi Moshe Halevi from boarding a plane bound for the UAE in February 2023, claiming that the tefillin’s straps posed a threat to passenger safety.

The Israeli General, Tal Bar-on, disclosed his objective, stating: “The opportunity has arisen to seek revenge against the harassment faced by religious Israelis visiting the Kingdom and strike a deal to secure the release of MP al-Adwan while serving Israeli interests.”

Therefore, it appeared that he leaked a draft agreement that was being negotiated between “Israel” and Jordan to gauge public opinion in Jordan regarding the proposed terms before releasing the MP, according to analysts.

What was noteworthy was that on the same day “Israel” released MP al-Adwan and handed him over to Jordan, “Tel Aviv” bypassed the recent Jordanian meeting regarding the cessation of settlement construction.

Surprisingly, Jordan did not object, as it usually does, raising further questions about whether it was a Jordanian concession in exchange for the release of al-Adwan?

On May 7, “Israel” published tenders on a government website for the construction of more than a thousand new settlement units in the occupied West Bank, contradicting its commitment, under US mediation, made on February 26, 2023, with Jordan to suspend discussions on new construction for four months.

 

Why Was Immunity Lifted?

It came as a surprise to the Jordanians, who were preparing to welcome the deputy coming from “Israel” as a hero, when the Jordanian Parliament decided to lift his immunity before his arrival.

Prior to his release, Israel Hayom reported on its website on May 5, quoting an unnamed Jordanian journalist, that secret dialogues are taking place through security channels between “Israel” and Jordan.

The Jordanian leadership is reportedly concerned that the arrest of the Jordanian deputy, Imad al-Adwan, in “Israel” would fuel tensions within the kingdom, which, until now, have been limited to the opposition and social media platforms, where the detained deputy is portrayed as a national hero.

According to Al-Quds Al-Arabi newspaper on May 7, the emergency and swift meeting organized by the Jordanian Parliament to lift the immunity was a sovereign message to the parliament members.

The message indicated that any delay by the deputies in quickly voting to lift Deputy Imad al-Adwan’s immunity would likely result in dissolving the parliament and keeping their colleague behind Israeli bars.

Therefore, the parliamentarians chose the desired scenario, and it was the fastest session to lift immunity for a member of the current council.

Within minutes, the immunity was lifted, and the deputy was referred to trial before the State Security Court as a price for the freedom of al-Adwan and his release, according to the newspaper.