A Palestinian man was stopped for attempting to smuggle songbirds into Israel for the second time this week.

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The man, a 35 year old resident of Jericho, was crossing the Allenby Bridge between Jordan and Israel when he was stopped by Israeli security personnel after they heard chirping coming from his pants.

One of the birds rescued on the border with Jordan (Photo: Israel Ports Authority)

Birds smuggled into West Bank from Jordan (קרדיט: דוברות רשות שדות התעופה)

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While agriculture ministry officials did attempt to free the birds, several of them did not survive the smuggling journey in the man’s pants.

The Palestinian smuggled the birds in his pants (Photo: Israel Ports Authority)

Many of the birds suffered multiple fractures and breaks to wings, beaks, and legs, while many others were simply suffocated.

One of the birds which died in transit (Photo: Israel Ports Authority)

The birds were finches and canaries, species which are typically cross-bred to make “Bandook” birds. Each one of the birds are worth approximately NIS 150 in Palestinian markets, while bandooks can fetch anywhere between NIS 500 and NIS 1,500.

The man was released from custody.