Elder Of Ziyon - Israel News: Allenby Bridge

Showing posts with label Allenby Bridge. Show all posts

Sunday, July 02, 2023

Palestinians again falsely blaming Israel for delays at Allenby Bridge returning from Hajj

Palestinian media is reporting:

Pilgrims stuck in the Jordanian city of pilgrims said that hundreds of pilgrims are still stuck on the Jordanian side since 3 am.

The pilgrims told Safa news agency on Sunday that hundreds are still stranded due to the departure of 140 buses from Saudi Arabia yesterday, which caused overcrowding and a major crisis in the Jordanian city of pilgrims.

They indicated that the reason for the crisis was the occupation's closure of the crossing between the occupied West Bank and Jordan due to the Saturday holiday for the occupation, and this coincided with the arrival of pilgrims' buses.

They pointed out that the occupation's procedures in the inspection and audit process cause obstacles and a slow entry process for pilgrims to the Palestinian territories.

Last year they falsely blamed Israel for delays in returning from Jordan during the summer. They lied then and they seem to be lying now.

The Israeli side is open on Saturdays from 8:30 AM to 6:30 PM. It appears that the buses arrived to the Jordanian terminal in the middle of the night. I doubt that the Jordanian terminal was even open then.

At any rate, the Israeli side is certainly open today from 7:00 AM, and won't close until 10:30 PM, yet the photos of the crowds in Jordan are being published within the past couple of hours (I'm writing this at 7:30 PM Israel time.) So it certainly isn't the Israeli side that is causing the delays. (Reportedly, from Sunday through Thursday the Israeli side is now open 24 hours but the Israeli borders webpage does not reflect that.)

The Arabic Facebook page covering the crossing does not say a word about problems on the Israeli side, which is recognized by travelers as being far more professional than the Jordanian side.

Buy the EoZ book, PROTOCOLS: Exposing Modern Antisemitism today at Amazon!

Or order from your favorite bookseller, using ISBN 9798985708424.

Read all about it here!

Jordan treats travelers crossing to West Bank like dirt - but Palestinian leaders keep blaming Israel

Palestinians are conditioned to blame everything on Israel. Every time they talk to the media, every time they talk to a Western audience, every time they speak to an NGO they have been trained from birth to always make Israel look bad and avoid any blame on the Arab side.

I recently reported on the problems at the Allenby Bridge crossing, which the Palestinians call Karama. It takes ten hours or more to make it from Jordan to the West Bank, and a Palestinian journalist writing in English squarely blamed Israel, saying that the Israelis were hell bent on "humiliating" the travelers.

It is nonsense. The number of travelers has increased beyond the normal capacities of both the Jordanian and Israeli sides between summer vacations, Muslim holidays and pilgrims traveling from Hajj. In addition, on the Jordanian side there are two classes of travelers, the VIPs who pay essentially a bribe (between $110-$200) to go ahead of the non-VIPs, making the delays far worse. And everyone is trying to get to the VIP lane so the delays there are hours long as well, although half the time for the poor non-VIPs.

Now, the Palestinians are again blaming Israel. Head of the Palestinian civil affairs authority Hussein Al-Sheikh said today, "We hold the government of Israel responsible for the catastrophic conditions at the Al-Karama Crossing - King Hussein Bridge."

If you want to know the truth, though, go to the Facebook page for news about the crossing. Most of the posters there laugh at the idea that Israel is the problem, as Jordan's interior minister claimed earlier today.

By Allah , the Israeli side is not to blame, but we always like to find a scapegoat for our failure.

All people can testify that the Israeli side has more cleanliness, organization, order and faster procedures than the Arabs.

Anarchy and lack of order are an integral part of the Arab mindset culture. Why do things go in the opposite direction [from Israel to Jordan] naturally and smoothly knowing it's the same bridge and the same crossing point? The issue is a policy of humiliation. Why do you lose luggage? Why are there no air-conditioned places for the traveler? Why does Al-Atal exploit the passenger and so rudely ask for a bribe? Why is there nothing to drink? Why are passengers being targeted and exploited? Why aren't the elderly, the sick and the special needs taken care of?

Confessing guilt is a virtue. The problem is that Jordan has no system, no hall to receive passengers, no cleanliness, no respect, exploitation, greed, and the place for passengers to buy tickets [treats people] as a sheep's flock. There should be a large reception hall, including a number of stations for buying tickets, carrying bags, and a passport hall to be there. At the Jewish side of the bridge the bags are in order, there is a clean cafeteria, with clean sandwiches and soft drinks, and the buses are modern, clean and air-conditioned...Human rights institutions are supposed to intervene to end his non-stop torment journey between Jordan And Palestine.

The problem is from Israel !!? 😂😂😂😂

For its part, Israel is trying to increase the hours of operation which are already from 8 AM to 11:30 PM. It will take a month or two. But I can find no plans for things to improve on the Jordanian side.

And why should the Jordanians fix things? The media blames Israel for everything, so there is no pressure or incentive to improve. Commenters say that the Jordanian side has not changed for years. Finally they are now building an air conditioned tent for those stuck outside the hall because the temperatures outside go up to 45C (113F).

When everything is blamed on Israel, it hurts actual Palestinians.

But, officially, everything remains Israel's fault. Always. And the Western media believes it, because no one tells them otherwise.

Buy the EoZ book, PROTOCOLS: Exposing Modern Antisemitism today at Amazon!

Or order from your favorite bookseller, using ISBN 9798985708424.

Read all about it here!

Travel delays are Israel's fault, too, according to an award winning journalist

Dalia Hatuqa is a well-regarded and award-winning Palestinian journalist, who has published in Time, the Washington Post, The Economist and elsewhere.

She wrote a Twitter thread yesterday about her frustrations at the delay of crossing the border between Jordan and Israel - blaming Israel for the delay.

There is currently a three hour wait at the Jordanian side of Allenby Bridge. Many of the people here are American citizens. Now tell me why the US is busy working on a visa waiver for Israel while we rot in literal hell at the border crossing

Still waiting. Been here since 11. Just been told by the Jordanian side that the number system they have doesn’t apply to people whose names are put on the list by a “minister” or someone “high up”. Some guy just told me he didn’t get a number and he already left for the Israeli side.

Everyone is feeding off Palestinian misery and desperation. We pay $110 a person just to get on a shared bus to go through the bridge. And wait for three hours just so the Israelis can fuck with you. This is the quintessential Palestinian travel experience.

To anyone following my bridge drama— I’ve finally made it home. What’s supposed to take 3 hours max took me 7 hours. That’s basically half way from Amman to Washington DC. I’m tired, hungry, thirsty but mostly angry and sad that this is what it takes to come home.

I haven’t tasted this kind of humiliation since the second intifada. I am so emotionally and physically exhausted I slept from 9pm last night and woke up at noon today. Friends are on the bridge as we speak and they waited 5 hrs at the Jordanian side. The whole thing breaks you.

You see, the evil Israelis are intent on humiliating Palestinians, and that's the reason for the delay, according to this award-winning journalist.

When someone commented to her, "Chill lady. I queued 3 hours at Heathrow yesterday." she responded, "Shut up. Queuing at Heathrow is a whole other ball game. You have no idea what you’re talking about. I don’t usually respond to nobodys but it’s obvious you’re privileged and have never tasted humiliation like this."

For Palestinians, every slight is a "humiliation" that is directed at them. No one else has problems, no one else suffers, and every Palestinian who is inconvenienced is a victim of a direct attack on their Palestinianism.

The problems at the Allenby Bridge crossing have nothing to do with "humiliation." It is very simple: the number of travelers is too high for the facilities to handle at peak times. (Ironically, Arabs call the crossing "Karama" - which means "dignity.")

UltraPal has an article about the delays at the crossing. It mentions that this is an issue every year during summer vacation - a crossing that normally takes one hour now take more than 8 (more than Hatuqa's journey.) It is worse this year as people want to be with their families for the upcoming Eid al Adha holiday.

The article highlights something that Hatuqa only alludes to: the delays prompt people to bribe Jordanian officials, who let some people go through first, and this exacerbates the problem for the rest.

UltraPal is not a pro-Israel publication but at no point does it claim that Israel is the reason for the delays. It does mention that Palestinian officials who are also at the crossing add to the delays themselves by searching travelers for smuggled cigarettes before they go on buses to the PA-controlled areas.

To Palestinians, Israel is the yin and yang of all evil, therefore all their troubles are Israel's fault. This has the benefit of not allowing them to take responsibility for their own problems.

Hatuqa could use her platforms to publicize the bribery and favoritism on the Jordanian side of the crossing. She could mention how inadequate the facilities are. That could shame Jordan into cracking down on the problem. But instead she does what Palestinians are conditioned to do: blame Israel, which can do little to solve the problem on its own, and therefore ensure that Palestinians will be perpetual victims.

That is the role they have chosen, and it is a role that they relish.

Buy the EoZ book, PROTOCOLS: Exposing Modern Antisemitism today at Amazon!

Or order from your favorite bookseller, using ISBN 9798985708424.

Read all about it here!

08/22 Links Pt1: Blood money -The PA has paid 2,692,500 shekels to terrorists who murdered 23 people

From Ian:

PMW: Blood money -The PA has paid 2,692,500 shekels to terrorists who murdered 23 people

16 years ago tonight, the 22nd of the Hebrew month of Av, 23 Jews were murdered in a suicide bombing while traveling on a bus in Jerusalem's Beit Yisroel neighborhood. Those murdered included 7 children. There were six terrorists directly involved in the attack, including the suicide bomber, two terrorists killed in an attempt to arrest them and three terrorists who are still in prison.

According to the calculations of Palestinian Media Watch, the Palestinian Authority has paid the imprisoned terrorists and the families of the dead terrorists, as payment for the murderous attack, a cumulative sum of 2,692,500 shekels ($764,482).

One of the more dominant terrorists who planned the attack was Majdi Za'atri who was sentenced to 23 consecutive life sentences and an additional 50 years. He alone, through June 2019, has been paid by the PA 706,800 shekels ($188,996).

Two other terrorist arrested at the same time have been paid the same amount. Accordingly, since the arrest of the three terrorists in August 2003, the PA has paid them, to date, a total of 2,142,300 shekels ($608,263).

Confronting UNRWA education antisemitism at the UN

The timing of the Palestinian Authority being called to task for antisemitism in its textbooks by the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination coincides with the UNRWA mandate coming under debate for renewal every five years, since 1949.

This year, for the first time, there will be no automatic renewal.

What is the connection between the PA textbooks and UNRWA?

I personally interviewed Dr. Na’im Abu Hummus, who was then Palestinian education minister, at his office on August 1, 2000, the very day the first textbooks published by the PA curriculum were provided to UNRWA.

In that interview, Al-Hummus explained that the PA had contracted with UNRWA to function as the exclusive supplier of schoolbooks for all UNRWA schools in Judea, Samaria, Gaza and Jerusalem.

That day, the PA provided the Center for Near East Policy Research (CFNEPR) with its first 80 school books, and the center has over the last 19 years received and examined all 365 school books which the PA has supplied to UNRWA.

Conclusions? The CFNEPR has found that PA textbooks used by UNRWA have been indoctrinating virulent antisemitism into the hearts and minds of refugees from the 1948 War of Independence and their descendants.

Significance? UNRWA is responsible for the education of 321,000 students in 370 schools.

UN agency for Palestinians is too corrupt to save

The United Nations General Assembly renews UNRWA’s mandate every three years and is expected to rubber-stamp its extension this November. Perhaps the assembly would reconsider if UNRWA’s top donors — the European Union, Germany, Britain, and Saudi Arabia — made clear that their patience is at an end.

Instead, UNRWA donors should call on the UN to treat Palestinian refugees like all other refugees in the world and address their needs through the UNHCR, which is less prone to corruption, though still not immune. The provision of services to Palestinians in need would continue or even improve. The U.S. could incentivize the proposed reform by offering to restore most or all of its $360 million annual funding if the UNHCR takes charge.

Additionally, as President Trump’s special envoy Jason Greenblatt suggested, nearby countries hosting Palestinians should assume many of UNRWA’s responsibilities — with donor support — so that these populations can finally start building lives outside the camps.

Corruption within a self-serving and self-preserving bureaucracy is entirely predictable. UNRWA has become a vestigial organ, no longer serving its purpose of helping actual refugees. Eliminating a bloated, bureaucratic UNRWA and redirecting its work towards more efficient bodies determined to solve the problem will ultimately serve all interested parties. It would cause some pain, but it is better than condemning another generation of Palestinians to grow up in the camps, where they learn to blame Israel for their suffering.