PA upset as 'VIP' travelers breeze over Allenby Bridge

Ahmad Melhem

Aug 11, 2016

A traveller waits for his luggage at the Allenby Bridge Crossing July 9, 2009. Israel said on Wednesday it would allow the crossing between the occupied West Bank and Jordan to remain open 24 hours a day to help the Palestinian economy. The Israeli-controlled terminal leading to the Allenby Bridge across the Jordan River is the West Bank's only land link to the Arab world. REUTERS/Ammar Awad (WEST BANK POLITICS) - RTR25HFS — A traveler waits for his luggage at the Allenby Bridge border crossing, July 9, 2009. — REUTERS/Ammar Awad

عربي

RAMALLAH, West Bank — There was an unprecedented travel crisis at the King Hussein (Allenby) Bridge during the month of July, when the number of travelers coming to and from the West Bank reached 247,000, according to the Palestinian Authority’s General Administration of Crossings and Borders.

The high traffic on the border crossing between the West Bank and Jordan prompted Mohammed al-Hassan, 44, to take advantage of the VIP service at the crossing despite its exorbitant cost of $120-$150 per person. On July 24, Hassan was coming from the United Arab Emirates to the West Bank to spend his annual leave with his wife and three children.