Ramallah -
It was not surprising for the Palestinians to announce that they would be allowed to travel through the Israeli Ramon Airport, as they were convinced that the travel crisis to Jordan was fabricated to pass a new plan of occupation.
Indeed, with the intensification of the crisis and a lot of talk about it, Israel offered to travel through Ramon Airport, according to what was published by the Hebrew newspaper "Israel Hayom" today, Saturday.
The newspaper said that the Israeli Airports Authority is preparing to operate the first international flights for the Palestinians from Ramon Airport to Turkey in early August.
The newspaper described this step as "historic", as the Palestinians will be able to travel abroad without the need to pass through Jordan.
Although the Hebrew newspaper did not explain the mechanism of travel, the Palestinians were divided between accepting travel through Ramon Airport on Israeli terms, and rejecting it.
Most of those who expressed their willingness to travel through this airport justified this by the suffering of the Palestinians through the Karama crossing and the high financial cost incurred by the Palestinians.
What is the mechanism of Palestinian travel through Jordan?
3 stations, 1 destination
The Palestinian travel point starts from the city of Jericho, what is known as “the rest stop”, and it is a point completely controlled by the Palestinian side.
There, the Palestinian hands over his bags and pays the fees for transporting them to the Jordanian side, then pays the departure tax for each person over the age of two years, which amounted to 158 shekels (more than 46 dollars).
After the passport is stamped, the passengers are transported by bus to the bridge area controlled by Israel, or what is called the "Allenby Bridge" in Israel.
There, in a delicate security operation, the traveler is searched and the identification papers are checked (the Palestinian passport for its holders, and a travel permit with the Palestinian identity for the Jordanian passport holders), then the traveler travels by bus to the side controlled by Jordan "King Hussein Bridge", and there is checked and stamped Passports for the third time.
After the passport checks are completed, Palestinian travelers who hold green travel cards (i.e. non-Jordanian passport holders) pay 10 dinars (equivalent to $14), in addition to baggage fees.
In the event that the destination of travel is to any other country, the traveler moves to the fourth station, which is Queen Alia Airport, from which he departs abroad.
This travel process will be at the three crossings from seven in the morning until seven in the evening, and on Friday and Saturday until 12 noon, while the crossing is completely closed on Eid al-Adha and the Jewish Day of Atonement.
In cases of severe overcrowding, often in the summer, the time a traveler needs from Jordan to Palestine doubles, and here Israel limits the number of buses that enter the part it controls, which creates a crisis for travelers who are crowded on the Jordanian side of the crossing or on buses between the two areas for long hours.
Crossing with dignity
The three stations that the traveler currently passes through were six stations before 2016. The “National Campaign for Freedom of Movement for Palestinians with Dignity” worked for years to reduce them, in addition to its ability in 2017 to pressure the crossing to operate 24 hours during the summer period and to increase the movement of travelers through the crossing.
But with the procedures for restricting travel in light of the spread of the Corona pandemic, the situation has returned to what it is, according to what is explained to Al Jazeera Net, Talaat Alawi, the campaign leader.
"We work according to the principle that the Palestinian has the right to travel from any crossing he wants and whenever he wants, 24 hours a day, at the lowest cost," Alawi said.
According to Alawi, the current situation of the crossing encourages the Palestinians to choose the option of traveling from Ramon Airport, which, he said, is clearly Israeli seriousness in operating it.
He believes that it is easier for the Palestinians to reach Ramon Airport, especially as he will travel without the need to stay overnight in Jordan, going back and forth due to the limitation of the crossing's operating hours, "in the largest transit process that drains his money and time."
Alawi believes that the Jordanian and Palestinian sides should cut off the road on the Israeli side by working 24 hours at the crossings and reducing costs, allowing the Palestinians to travel through their vehicles and providing additional facilities.
The travel of Palestinians through Jordan passes through 3 stations that take a long time (Al-Jazeera)
official rejection
Officially, the spokesman for the Palestinian Ministry of Transport and Communications, Musa Rahal, rejected the Israeli plan, calling for handing over Al-Quds International Airport to the State of Palestine, and restoring work at Gaza Airport in accordance with the agreements signed between the two sides.
However, this position is unreliable, and it could change under US or Israeli pressure, according to Omar Rahal, director of the Media Center for Human Rights and Democracy "Shams".
Omar Rahal called for political and popular pressure to reject the Israeli plan and apply international agreements to return to work at Gaza Airport and hand over "Al-Quds-Qalandia Airport" to restart it.
He said that Israel aims through this step to do two things, the first of which is to tell the international public opinion that the Palestinians can travel to the whole world through an airport, and the second is to eliminate the option of establishing an airport managed by the Palestinian side.
On the economic level, Israel can operate an “economically fallen” airport, on “the shoulders of the Palestinians,” according to the director of the Media Center for Human Rights and Democracy.
More economic and security hegemony
Despite attempts to market the airport to Israel, and officially announce the launch of test flights to Turkey, which is one of the most popular tourist and commercial destinations for Palestinians in recent years, some people underestimate the possibility of turnout due to its geographical distance.
The analyst who follows Israeli affairs, Nihad Abu Ghosheh, told Al Jazeera Net that the airport's geographical distance will affect its use, despite all the announced Israeli facilities.
Abu Ghosheh added, "We are talking about a distance of 450 kilometers, that is, 6 hours for the traveler from the city of Ramallah, which is the closest area in the West Bank."
This airport, from which flight began in 2019, is the second largest airport in Israel after Lod Airport (Ben Gurion Airport), and the intention was to build it after Israel's war on the Gaza Strip 2014, when a security committee concluded that Lod Airport (Ben Gurion) had fallen from security after His work stopped after being bombed by the Palestinian resistance.
Abu Ghosheh indicated that Israel is trying to market the travel crisis through the Al-Karama Crossing as being due to Jordanian and Palestinian measures, when in fact the measures it imposes are the main cause.