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The Biden administration is reportedly growing strain on Israel to observe by on its dedication to opening the Allenby Bridge border crossing 24 hours a day by September 30.
The crossing is used virtually solely by Palestinian West Financial institution residents en path to Jordan’s capital Amman for worldwide flights.
The Allenby crossing is at present solely open from 8 a.m. to 11:30 p.m. through the week and eight a.m. to three:30 p.m. on the weekend, which means queues can final hours or as much as a whole day to cross into Jordan, a long-time headache for Palestinians.
Throughout his July go to to the area, US President Joe Biden introduced that Israel had agreed to transition the border to a 24-hour service by September 30 in an effort to ease congestion for vacationers. Nevertheless, Israeli officers don’t imagine the timeline to be achievable, Walla reported.
The report mentioned that following Biden’s July announcement, US Ambassador to Israel Tom Nides visited the border crossing, asking representatives from the Airports Authority, which operates the border, whether or not it will have the ability to obtain the deadline.
After receiving a adverse response, US representatives contacted Transport Minister Merav Michaeli, demanding that she guarantee obligations are fulfilled on time, the report mentioned.
Passengers arrive on the Jordanian facet of the Allenby crossing between the West Financial institution and Jordan on July 19, 2022. (Khalil Mazraawi/AFP)
Whereas Michaeli apparently dedicated to attempting, she reportedly made it clear to the US representatives {that a} lack of employees was prone to stand in the best way of Israel assembly the September 30 deadline.
Nonetheless unhappy, the US representatives escalated the difficulty, partaking US Nationwide Safety Adviser Jake Sullivan to boost the difficulty in his Washington assembly with Protection Minister Benny Gantz final week, in accordance with the report.
Domestically, there’s a blame sport underway, the report mentioned, with Transportation Ministry officers blaming the Protection Ministry for agreeing to the tight deadline with out consulting them, whereas the Protection Ministry blamed the Transportation Ministry for failing to satisfy the deadline.
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