The US ambassador to Israel, Thomas Nydes, has continued with one of his key projects: ensuring that Israel fulfills its commitment to expand and improve the daily operation of the border terminal at Allenby Bridge to facilitate the passage of Palestinians traveling between the West Bank and Jordan, Jewish Insider reported on April 3.
On April 2, nearly a week after the start of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, the crossing began 24-hour operation. It will now be open all night, five days a week, with reduced opening hours only on the Jewish Sabbath, starting on Friday night and ending on Saturday night, at least during the summer months.
Nydes, who has been pressing Israel since his arrival in Israel in November 2021 to fulfill the US administration’s promise to open the bridge 24 hours a day, said he was determined to see projects implemented to improve daily life. of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians. .
The Allenby Bridge border terminal, also known as the King Hussein Bridge, was opened for civilian use in 1994 following the signing of the peace agreement between Israel and Jordan. For the past 30 years, the object has not been repaired.
Check-in and passport counters are inconvenient or inaccessible to people with disabilities, and seating arrangements in arrival and departure halls do not take into account the growing number of people in transit.
Under long-standing peace agreements between Israel and Jordan, and between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, the terminal is run by Israeli employees and governed by Israeli law, though it is used primarily by Palestinians, as well as tourists and diplomats. foreign.
The total flow of passengers through the terminal has increased rapidly since the early 2000s, reaching more than 2.8 million passengers per year in 2019. Due to the pandemic, the number of transit passengers has decreased and the terminal has only been open a few hours a day. The influx of returning travelers caught those working at the crossing by surprise in late 2021, and finding additional workers proved challenging.
Six months ago, a week-long pilot program was launched, following the success of which Israel set itself the goal of opening the terminal 24 hours a day for Ramadan.
Source: Rossa Primavera
I am Michael Melvin, an experienced news writer with a passion for uncovering stories and bringing them to the public. I have been working in the news industry for over five years now, and my work has been published on multiple websites. As an author at 24 News Reporters, I cover world section of current events stories that are both informative and captivating to read.