How will Jordan solve the bridge crisis?

The issue of the bridge between Jordan and Palestine remains strongly present, because the bridge does not express borders, but rather a humanitarian situation that has political repercussions and far-reaching effects.


On a surprise tour of the bridge with the Minister of Interior, I noticed that most Palestinians come in advance in a state of mobilization, nervousness and tension, even before entering the bridge, and this has a psychological explanation, as the traveler here anticipates in advance the suffering that awaits him, and the long hours he will spend, from exiting the Jordanian side to Palestine, the Israeli delays, and the many Israeli checkpoints on his way to his city in the West Bank. 

A traveler may need a full day starting at 5 a.m. and extending beyond the evening prayers until he reaches home, and Israel is adept at torturing Palestinians.


The tension is exacerbated by the traveler’s feeling that he is sometimes subjected to a process of financial exploitation, according to the accounts of some travelers, and I have been told directly to the minister, from baggage fees to tips, the file of platform reservations, how to get a ticket somehow at a higher price, and so on.


When you ask someone why you don’t complain if you are right about the existence of exploitation, they will tell you that this will open a door of problems and investigation.


The cadres of the bridge are not hostile to the Palestinians, and many travelers have praised Jordan and its role and assistance, but these cadres are also nervous, they are human beings, because of the pressure of the people, and the state of regret among the travelers of everything, and they sometimes feel that they are under accusation no matter what they do to the Palestinians, and perhaps the recent wave of abuse that affected the bridge has left a negative impact on their morale, when they try to serve the Palestinians, and there is many evidence of what they provide to the elderly, the young, and humanitarian cases, but some offend them, by telling different stories, which are Limited cases compared to the effort exerted.


There are measures that must be taken, the first of which is to strengthen the bridge with additional cadres, increase overt and secret security control to prevent any violations or financial abuses, if they occur or in the transaction, and to re-evaluate the entire file of the platform, the stories that are rumored around it, the free market, the world of cigarettes and honey, and to open the door to complain against any violations without legal consequences for the complainant.


This is also a role required by the Ramallah Authority in terms of contacts with Israel and the countries of the world to increase the number of Palestinian passengers through the bridge.


The worst thing about the story of the bridge is that rumors are mixed with information, and sometimes the allegations are mixed with the facts, and the story is not Jordan’s submission to the Palestinian complaint because the bridge is not just a border point, but also a face for Jordan, which contributes to strengthening the economy between the two banks, especially since most travelers from the West Bank to Jordan spend a lot of money on tourism, medical treatment, and the operation of sectors.


The Ministry of Interior has launched 3 projects to develop the bridge at the level of services, specifically the transportation of bags and the construction of new buildings, and it is certain that there are additional measures in the coming period to prevent some of the negative phenomena that many have talked about.


The most important thing here is that the bridge file needs more than one solution, and Jordanian-Palestinian political pressure is necessary through communications and international relations, to increase the number of passengers and working hours on the Israeli side, and the development of services is something that must continue at the level of refrigeration, halls, and the movement of buses, and finding solutions to all complaints related to the platform and the hidden worlds associated with it according to the travelers’ narratives, the nature of the role of transport companies, and what is related to the file of the cigarette trade, and finding an innovative solution to emergency travel cases.


As for the strategic solution, it is to rebuild the site, and develop the infrastructure, and this needs hundreds of millions, and the state here has to either copy the model of Queen Alia International Airport in operation and investment, with any international companies, or repeat the same model with Jordanian money, from the public and private sectors.


The cadres of the bridge are working, helping and bearing a lot of pressure, in light of psychological tensions that are not easy to put pressure on both the Jordanian and Palestinian sides, and we must appreciate their role a lot, just as we understand the Palestinians complaint about travel.