Jordanian ambassador visits MP held by Israel over 'gold, weapons smuggling'

Jordan’s ambassador to Israel has visited Jordanian MP Emad al-Adwan, who was detained by Israel on charges of weapons smuggling, Jordan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Tuesday.

The ministry statement said al-Adwan told ambassador Ghassan al-Majali that he was in good health and had not been subjected to physical or psychological torture.

Al-Adwan asked the ambassador to reassure his family about his situation in detention, the statement added.

Al-Adwan was detained by Israeli forces on Sunday, accused of attempting to smuggle a large quantity of weapons and gold across the Allenby Bridge border crossing into the occupied West Bank.

Jordanian lawmakers have slammed the arrest as politically motivated.

"His arrest is unjustified, unacceptable and I consider it a political arrest of the first degree," Salah Armouti, a Jordanian MP from the Muslim Brotherhood-affiliated Islah party, told The New Arab.

Following the foreign ministry's statement on Tuesday, Armouti also slammed Jordan's government for legitimising "the Zionist narrative".

"The statement came at a time when we expected authorities to refute the Zionist narrative," Armouti was quoted by Arabi 21 as saying.

Al-Adwan's arrest has further tested relations between Amman and Tel Aviv, in a year that has seen Israel escalate its brutality in the occupied West Bank and at the Jordan-administered Al-Aqsa Mosque.

Jordanians on social media have expressed solidarity with al-Adwan, while the Adwan tribe - one of Jordan's most powerful - have urged Amman to secure his release.