Al -Jazeera Net Correspondents
Oman – A worsening crisis witnessed by the travel movement through the King Hussein Bridge, which links Jordan to the occupied West Bank during the past days, has sparked widespread discontent between passengers, in light of the increasing difficulties in obtaining electronic travel tickets through the approved official platform, which prompted hundreds of travelers to launch urgent calls for the competent authorities to intervene and put an end to what they described as “transit chaos” and “exploiting the black market.”
In turn, the Jordanian Minister of Interior, Mazen Al -Faraya, visited the border bridge on Sunday morning, accompanied the scene, and instructed a series of measures that would control the matter and facilitate the travel of citizens.
According to the testimonies of citizens of Al -Jazeera Net, electronic travel tickets are sold outside the official channels at double prices, while some referred to unofficial “brokers” networks, for unknown persons, which provide reservations for amounts that may reach 100 Jordanian dinars (about 150 US dollars) and more.
Government
One of the travelers – preferred not to disclose her identity – says that she tried to book through the official platform for days without success, and she adds to Al -Jazeera Net, “After a period of time, one of them indicated me to a person who could provide a travel ticket immediately for an additional amount.”
And she confirms that she was eventually forced to buy a ticket from a person you do not know with a double amount, “only to be able to travel to attend an important medical date in Ramallah,” she said.
In turn, a spokesman for the Ministry of Interior, Dr. Abdul Karim Abu Deal, confirmed that the Minister of Interior Mazen Al -Faraya held a meeting in the King Hussein Bridge region today, Sunday morning, after traveling through the bridge the official authorities in the Kingdom called for immediate intervention to address what they described as a “suffocating crisis and manipulation” hitting the electronic reservation system “through the new platform” for transit tickets from Jordan to the West Bank.
Abu Doual, to Al -Jazeera Net, confirmed that the minister Al -Faraya continued the comments of the travelers who were affected, and stressed that they will notice a big difference in services as of today.
The Minister also instructed – according to Abu Doual – the necessity of matching the name to book tickets through the new platform, in addition to emphasizing the company “Jet” (the wilderness carrier of travelers), with the declared dates and names of travelers, and also working to reduce crises on the bridge.
Delay factors
The Minister listened to Al -Faraya during his visit to the bridge site today for the comments and complaints of citizens and travelers, in addition to a briefing from the officials of the bridge and the CEO of “Jet” company, who indicated that the main cause of the problem is the presence of travelers to the bridge early before the travel date, which causes overcrowding and the long waiting period until the time of departure.
It was also indicated that the presence of those affected by the activation of the electronic platform, who in turn try to stimulate the confusion around its usefulness, in addition to the presence of a group of people who visit daily use of the bridge, for different profit goals and goals, are not closely related to the basic priorities of the use of the bridge.
These factors led to an increase in congestion and delaying the movement of passengers, and affected the flow of procedures, due to the limited daily number of bridge users according to the arrangements followed with the Israeli side.
Control procedures
In the context of addressing these problems and complaints, the Minister of the Interior directed the officials in the bridge to implement procedures and instructions as follows:
- Allow one person to purchase a limited number of electronic tickets.
- Determine the name of the card user, and the need to issue the electronic card in the name of the traveler itself, and with highly unbalanced specifications.
- The traveler’s name is matched on the card with his name installed in the passport, in coordination between the company “Jet” and the security services operating in the bridge.
- Not to allow anyone who does not carry the travel ticket to enter the bridge area.
For her part, the deputy in the Jordanian parliament, Dr. Dima Tahboub, confirmed that she had received many citizens’ complaints about the procedures followed on the King Hussein Bridge, especially with regard to the fees that are being charged and the problems in this aspect.
Tahboub explained to Al -Jazeera Net that she had contacted the Minister of Interior Mazen Al -Faraya, valuing his speed and visit to the bridge, and added, “However, we demand sustainable procedures, especially with the time of seasons in which travelers abound through the bridge,” and called for all the procedures to be electronic, so that the human element does not interfere by influencing its smoothness.
It is noteworthy that the King Hussein Bridge is used by travelers returning from Jordan to the Palestinian territories, where the traveler after the bridge heads to the Israeli crossing (Allenby), and is subject to accurate inspection measures that take time, followed by the departure of the Palestinian side (Al -Karama) and from it for the Palestinian territories.