Israeli security forces intercepted a boat this week on the Dead Sea carrying assault rifles and ammunition from Jordan, Israeli authorities said.

The military provided a photograph showing a haul of 10 Kalashnikov rifles and the same number of ammunition clips. Two men on board, Palestinians in their 40s, were arrested July 26, police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said. He said the intended destination of the weapons was unclear.

The military said it was treating the incident as an attempted weapons smuggling operation and not as an attempted militant attack. Army Radio described the vessel as a rubber dinghy.

The Dead Sea, a landlocked salt lake at the lowest point on the earth’s surface, is split between Israeli and Jordanian control. The northwestern section of the lake is in the West Bank, which the Palestinians claim as part of a future state.

Israeli authorities have identified the lake as a route for smugglers with small boats. — ap