AMMAN —
Two Jordanians who were arrested by Israeli forces
on Sunday after sneaking across the border are still detained in Israel, the
Foreign Ministry clarified on Tuesday after the speaker of the Lower House
announced their return, causing confusion for the detainees’ families.
اضافة اعلان
During yesterday's Lower House session, Speaker Abdul-munem
Al-Oudat said that he was informed by Interior Minister Mazen Al-Faraya that
"Jordanians who snuck across the borders have been brought back to
Jordan.” However, he later clarified to Jordan News that "he was referring
to another incident and two different men."
Mahmoud, the father of Khalifa, one of the men detained in
Israel, told Jordan News that he is still unaware of his son’s fate.
“I wonder what will happen to my son because now anything
can happen, in light of the government’s conflicting statements and clarity”,
said Mahmoud.
The Foreign Ministry similarly clarified the confusion about
incidents of Jordanians sneaking across the borders towards Israel.
"The ministry is still following the case of two
detained Jordanians in Israel,” the statement read. The ministry also stated that it received two
Jordanians who crossed the borders in a different incident.
Khaled Mahajneh, a lawyer representing the currently
detained men, told local media that the "two men are still in Israel and
their detention was extended until Thursday pending investigations."
He added that the men in question are facing three different
charges, including planning a terrorist attack, entering Israel illegally, and
aiding and abetting crime.
“It is such a shame to see official statements made without
confirmation,” said MP Saleh Armouti. “The minister of interior did not confirm
his information before passing it on to the speaker. We received messages from
the families of the detainees who told us that they did not come home during
the session."
The detainees, Musab and Khalifa, 38 and 29 respectively,
are from the same village in Irbid in northern Jordan. Both men had not
informed their families of their intentions to sneak across the borders.
“I had no idea that my son would do that, I was shocked to
see his pictures on social media and TV. He usually followed up news and he was
frustrated with what was going on in Palestine,” added Mahmoud.
According to the father, Khalifa did not own a mobile phone
and he was not active on social media.
Saleh, the father of the second arrestee Musab, was also
unaware that his son snuck across the borders. He said that seeing the news on
social media “shocked the whole family.”
“My son is a simple young man, and he did not care much for
politics. We were not alarmed when he didn’t come home that night because he
sometimes spends nights in the wild and we got used to it,” said Saleh.
As violence in Gaza is ongoing and protests on both sides of
the border rage, Jordanians have held several protests in Al-Karameh area near
the border against Israeli aggression and in solidarity with Palestinians.
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