Israeli soldiers arrested seven Turkish citizens on Saturday morning after they infiltrated the border into Israeli territory from Jordan.
“”This morning, IDF forces identified seven suspects crossing from Jordan into territory of the State of Israel,” the IDF said in a statement.
The seven infiltrators spent Friday night hiding in the brush near Neot HaKikar, an area south of the Dead Sea, before crossing into Israel.
“IDF fighters, in cooperation with Israeli police and security forces, located and arrested the suspects, who were then transferred to security forces for further investigation,” the IDF said, adding the infiltrators were turned over the security forces for interrogation.
“This is not the first time,” said Tamar Regional Council security head Benny Ben-Shimon. “In the past few months, we’ve had three similar incidents. “This isn’t about smuggling attempts or terror activities; they’re people who came to find work.”
Likewise, Jordan’s Health Ministry spokesperson Sofian al-Quaeda said the seven who crossed the border into Israel early Saturday were looking for employment. He emphasized they held foreign citizenship and were not Jordanian citizens.