The IDF is fundamentally changing its operational preparedness on the border with Jordan - following a surge in weapons smuggling and fears of Iranian-sponsored attacks that could occur along the border in 2024.
According to a report by Ariel Kahane in Israel Hayom, an IDF source says that the reference scenario that the Central Command is preparing for is attempts by Hezbollah, or other pro-Iranian militias, to break through from the Jordanian border to one of the settlements near the border.
The border with Jordan is 309 km long and is the longest that Israel has with one of its neighbors. In the last two years, there has been a dramatic increase in weapons smuggling from Jordan to the West Bank, and the IDF estimates that Iran is behind the shipments.
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This concerns more than 1,000 weapons of various types that were seized along the border. Among other things, the smugglers use M-16 air rifles, while in Israel the assemblies adapted for air bullets are replaced with those suitable for standard bullets. In one case, an Iranian-made Kalymgor charge was even seized at the border - and the IDF knows that only some of the smuggling is seized.
Smuggling is carried out along the entire border - from the Arava, through the Dead Sea to the border triangle between Jordan, Israel, and Syria.
In light of the increase in smuggling and threats, the IDF has already doubled the size of its forces along the border.
According to Israel Hayom, the work plan for 2024 is even more extensive: the army is expected to ask the cabinet to build a barrier along the border, similar to the one between Israel and Egypt. In addition, observation posts will be set up, security will be tightened, and other measures will be installed to deal with smuggling and thwart possible attacks.
The IDF maintains contact with the Jordanian army, in order to combat the phenomenon together. This contact has also been maintained in recent weeks, during which Israeli residents along the Jordan Valley have reported frequent gunfire from the border area. Videos have even been uploaded to social media documenting the sounds of gunfire heard from Ashdod Yaakov and the surrounding area.
The IDF accepts the Jordanian army's explanations that it was firing into the bushes and water along the stream to deter arms smugglers who, under cover of darkness and the cover of night, are trying to transfer weapons to the Israeli side of the fence.
However, partly due to complaints from residents and as a lesson from the Hamas attack in the south, the alert squads in the communities were reinforced, with the aim of stopping an invasion of the communities, if, God forbid, there were one.
The army rules out a scenario of a "reversal" by the Jordanian army, but agrees that there may be lone soldiers who will launch a shooting spree, as has happened in the past.
However, the IDF is preparing for an equally serious scenario, in which Iranian militias manage to penetrate Jordan, from where they will later attack Israel.
