Israeli border between Jordan and West Bank is a nightmare

Ma'an - "Madness at the Allenby Bridge" - Nasser Laham - Thousands of Palestinian travelers and foreign tourists and workers know the suffering caused by the measures enforced by Israeli border guards stationed at the Allenby Bridge in Jericho.


It's so annoying, a place where waiting families and children standing outside for hours at a time, sometimes even until midnight, like last night, just to travel a distance not exceeding two kilometers.

Incidentally, Ma'an has learned that this particular delay was caused by Israeli border officials who had gone on strike, apparently upset that the Israeli side was so overloaded that they stopped work at the Palestinian side.

Over the past two years, Palestinian Authority officials have tried their best to improve the experience at the bridge by building extra facilities, moving people through faster, and generally improving workflow.

And Jordan added more facilities for the passengers, a move recognized by travelers who report back that officials there are unusually polite and helpful -- a contrast from most customs agents around the world.

It is beyond reason, then, that the nightmare faced by nearly all travelers moving between the West Bank and Jordan is solely on the Israeli side, where guards shout at them, snatch passports, and the like. One gets the impression that the [Israeli] women -- and they're mostly women -- are under direct orders to scream at people, making them feel like fugitives as they race ahead of each other to get their passports stamped just to escape the prolonged searches and terror.

Passengers are also made to feel like criminals when shopping at the duty free, where one finds civilian guards armed to the teeth searching bags and shaking people down at one of the at least 10 checkpoints where travelers wait for hours.

Some travelers suspect the director of that post is incompetent, with an inability to notice the suffering of all those who travel under his supervision, or perhaps mentally ill, a sadist who enjoys hearing children cry or seeing the elderly suffer.

If I ever got the chance, I think I'd ask him: Are you happy? Do you sleep well at night? Do you hear the crying of the sick and elderly? Are you ashamed? Have you ever compared yourself to the Jordanian bridge manager or the Palestinian bridge manager, just to scope out other options? Do you think you're a hero? Do you expect to win some medal for treating people this way?

Curse the university or agency that certified you for this job, really, if you can't see or understand the significant hardship you put people through. Thank God you're not in charge of Heathrow or Frankfurt.