AMMAN Ñ Israeli and Jordanian troops are cooperating in stopping
Palestinian insurgents and their allies from using the Hashemite kingdom as
a base for attacks against the Jewish state.
The two militaries coordinated in an operation that killed as many as
six Palestinian insurgents who made their way across northern Jordan toward
the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights over the weekend. Four of the
insurgents were killed by Israeli troops and the rest by Jordanian forces.
The joint operation began on late Saturday when Jordanian troops spotted
insurgents moving west toward the Golan Heights, captured by Israel in the
1967 war. The insurgents were said to have been heading toward an Israeli
kibbutz north of the Sea of Galilee when they were spotted by a Jordanian
patrol on late Saturday.
"Around 8:15 p.m., a group of several men fired in the direction of our
patrols in our northern border region before fleeing," Jordan's official
Petra news agency said.
Military sources said the Fatah movement headed by Palestinian Authority
Chairman Yasser Arafat has become active in the weapons smuggling trade
through Jordan. Earlier this month, Jordan arrested at least two Fatah
officers in a crackdown on weapons smuggling in the country. They were the
first Fatah officers reported to have been arrested by Amman.
Jordan has become a leading route for weapons smuggling to the PA by
both Palestinian as well as Hizbullah insurgents. Earlier this month, under
intense pressure from Arab states and Iran, Jordan released three Hizbullah
agents captured during their attempt to smuggle Katyusha rockets to the
Palestinian Authority.
"This is another border that we will have to look out for," Israeli
Deputy Defense Minister Dalia Rabin-Pelosof said on Monday.
Over the weekend, at least 10 Palestinians and two Israelis were killed
throughout the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Israeli military sources said three
of the Palestinians were killed when they tried to dig their way into a
Jewish settlement in the Gaza Strip.
