Jordanian farmers upset over West Bank egg imports

Ma'an reports:

A truckload of eggs produced in the West Bank was exported to Jordan via King Hussein Bridge on Sunday, turning a new page in commercial relations between Jordan and Palestine.

The eggs were collected from farmers in Qalqiliya in the northern West Bank, who welcomed the step as a vital alternative to the Israeli market.

“This is a remarkable Palestinian accomplishment which enables Palestinian farmers to sell their products to our Jordanian brothers,” said Adnan Zaid, a farmer from Qalqiliya.

Who could be against Palestinian Arabs exporting their eggs to Jordan?

Apparently, Jordanian farmers.

A story in Ad-Dustour says that a shipment of "Israeli" eggs were shipped to Jordan - also on Sunday, also over the Sheikh Hussein Bridge.

The article quotes the head of a Jordanian farmers union complaining about these eggs supposedly imported from Israel, saying that their prices undercut those of Jordanian egg farmers. Not only that, but he alleges that Israeli chickens have diseases that Jordanian chickens do not, and their eggs can make consumers sick. Moreover, Jordanian egg farmers produce enough eggs to satisfy the entire country.

It seems likely that the union leader is lying, and is really referring to these eggs from Palestinian Arab farmers that could lower prices for Jordanians. So he uses the oldest trick in the Arab book - calling his enemy "Zionist" and pretending that the PalArab eggs are really Israeli.

Which must be eggsapserating for the Palestinian Arabs who want to expand their market. (Sorry.)