Jordanian authorities recently arrested a Lebanese man who allegedly tried to smuggle mortar shells into the occupied Palestinian territories via the kingdom, said reports.
Jordanian Prime Minister Ali Abu Ragheb said smuggling operations were not new in Jordan, but declined to give details, according to AFP.
"In Jordan we see many cases where there is smuggling of arms, ammunition or such weapons to various factions," Abu Ragheb said in reply to a question during a meeting with members of the Foreign Correspondent's Club.
The smuggled weapons pass "through Jordan or to Jordan," Abu Ragheb said, suggesting that they were destined for a third country in most cases.
"It is not new," he said.
"We deal with these issues maybe on a monthly basis, but maybe the last one was a big one compared to others."
Jordanian sources were quoted by Haaretz newspaper as saying that the smuggler tried bribing Jordanian security officers with $4,500 but they turned him down.
Israeli security sources two weeks ago told the paper Jordan had been "amazing" in its preventive efforts to prevent arms smugglers from Jordanian territory from reaching Palestinian areas.
The same sources also praised Egyptian efforts at preventing arms smuggling into the Palestinian Authority controlled areas – Albawaba.com
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