Slogans rejecting the land bridge raised by Jordanians in their demonstrations rejecting the Israeli aggression on Gaza (social networking sites)
Amman -
Talk does not stop at the local level in Jordan about what citizens and party and political elites call a “land bridge” for trucks loaded with goods, passing through Jordan towards Israel, coming from the Emirates and other countries, as an alternative to the Israeli and foreign ships that imposed the Ansar Allah Houthi group in Yemen. A ban on its passage through the Bab al-Mandab Strait.
News about the existence of the land bridge circulated, starting from the Hebrew media and then through the Israeli Minister of Transportation, Miri Regev. Then popular sources confirmed the existence of this bridge and published pictures of trucks passing through it. This coincided with the spread of news of food shortages and the threat of famine in the northern Gaza Strip.
A human chain in which Jordanian citizens stand in protest on the land bridge road (Al Jazeera)
hue and cry
Since then, the activities against this bridge have not stopped and have topped the scene of protests and circulation on social media, and Jordanians have repeatedly gone out on an almost weekly basis in human chains on the road, which they considered “supplies the occupation with goods,” as members of the “Jordanian Youth Gathering to Support the Resistance” told Al Jazeera Net. A number of their activists were summoned to the security authorities, with the aim of warning them not to focus on the “land bridge” issue.
On the other hand, the official Jordanian response continued to categorically deny the existence of this bridge, considering it propaganda to distort Jordan’s image and its official position. This was stated by Prime Minister Bisher Al-Khasawneh, when he described the land bridge as “a revelation of the imagination,” which is the same denial spoken by the spokesman for Jordan. Jordanian government, Muhannad Mubaidin, for Al Jazeera Net.
This description of the Jordanian Prime Minister has become one of the slogans of the protests in the Jordanian street, as the protesters chant during their stops and demonstrations, “How a revelation... and the land bridge is operational (working),” while the Jordanian capital, Amman, has witnessed protests near the Israeli embassy on a daily basis since the middle of Ramadan. This caused a stir in local circles, and caught the attention of the Hebrew and foreign media.
Field monitoring of the bridge
In order to verify the accuracy of the information and what is going on about this “land bridge”, Al Jazeera Net prepared this field press material in several stages, extending over a month of field monitoring, through several tours of the road that is being said to be the one taken by the land bridge trucks, beginning with From the Al-Omari border center on the Jordanian-Saudi border, all the way to the Sheikh Hussein crossing on the western border of Jordan.
The first stage: Are there trucks passing through this road?
Al Jazeera Net monitored, through field tracking of the road leading to the Sheikh Hussein crossing, and on 3 different times on multiple days, the presence of trucks constantly passing through this road, estimated at about 6 trucks per hour, during the period between the hours before noon and sunset, in a group system. Or individual.
Al Jazeera Net spoke with the people of the areas through which this road passes, namely the areas of Kafr Yuba, Jumha, and Northern Shuna, and they confirmed that they had noticed an increase in the number of trucks passing through this road, since last November.
Although no trucks were observed crossing this road after 9 p.m., Al Jazeera Net observed one night about 15 trucks crossing at once, carrying Turkish and Jordanian license plates, but they came via a different route, and the people of the area believe that they were loaded with vegetables and came from the direction of Ghor al-Safi.
By reviewing satellite images of a random day at the Sheikh Hussein crossing on the western Jordanian border, the images show the presence of approximately 48 trucks lined up at the crossing waiting for their turn to pass, without knowing the exact source of these trucks in detail, while Al Jazeera Net monitored some trucks sleeping inside garages. In the Northern Shouna area, do not wait or spend the night at the crossing.
A satellite image of the Sheikh Hussein crossing shows a gathering of dozens of trucks (Al Jazeera)
By searching through open sources, Al Jazeera Net obtained a survey report on trade and logistics services between the Jordanian and Israeli sides, prepared by the Japan International Cooperation Agency and PADICO, which shows the volume of trade through the Sheikh Hussein crossing in the years 2016 and 2017.
The report indicated that in 2016, 27,752 loaded trucks crossed, and in 2017, 23,000 trucks crossed, which means that if the maximum annual working days estimated at between 200 and 220 days are calculated, the average traffic volume will be 115 trucks per day in The mentioned years.
The second stage: What is the type and source of trucks that pass through?
Al Jazeera Net monitored, over various random days, trucks carrying various plates, ranging from Jordanian plates (transit transport) coming from the Emirates, Emirati plates bearing the “Dubai” logo, and Turkish plates.
Al Jazeera Net also tried to communicate with some drivers during their work, but they refused to talk, but we were able to communicate with a driver of Turkish nationality. He told us that his truck was heading to the Sheikh Hussein crossing.
During its tours, Al Jazeera Net also spotted a truck heading to the Sheikh Hussein crossing carrying containers bearing the logo of “Zim”, an Israeli shipping company based in Haifa, whose name has been widely mentioned over the past months, after it lost $2.7 billion worth over the past year, after... Its revenues fell by 58.9% after the outbreak of the war on the Gaza Strip and the attacks of the Yemeni Houthi group in the Red Sea.
Phase 3: What route do the trucks take?
Al Jazeera Net obtained, through one of the drivers - without revealing his name - a direct tracking route (Live location) of the land road taken by trucks coming from the Saudi-Jordanian Al-Omari border, where the trucks reach the Azraq area, and from there to the outskirts of Zarqa Governorate, where the town of Al-Hashimiya is located in Jisr. "Kho", then to Mafraq Governorate, passing through the town of Al-Buwayda.
The trucks then arrive at the city of Ramtha in Irbid Governorate, where they pass close to the University of Science and Technology before reaching the Al-Hosn area in Irbid. They take the Irbid Ring Road and then exit from it to the main road, which passes through the towns of Kafr Yuba, Jamha, and Kafr Asad, arriving at the Northern Shuna crossing. Sheikh Hussein.
Live tracking of the path of a truck from the Al-Omari border to the Sheikh Hussein Bridge (Al-Jazeera)
Attractive offers
Al Jazeera Net spoke with truck drivers that pass through this road. The driver, M.H., says that he has owned a transport truck for years and has been working on transporting goods from the Emirates to Jordan. He explains, “Recently, and specifically after preventing the passage of ships in the Red Sea, it has become Brokers come to us in Dubai asking us to load goods heading to Israel, with fees amounting to twice the amount we charge for transportation to Jordan.”
He continues, "If you refuse, another broker comes to you and tries to convince you in various ways, including asking you to deliver the goods to Al-Hassan Industrial City in the city of Irbid, and from there the containers are transferred from your truck to other trucks heading to the Sheikh Hussein crossing, which is a form of fraud."
As for the driver, S.H., he says, “We have now carried anything from Jordan to the Emirates, even for free, which was useless in the past, but now the financial cost for transportation from the Emirates to Israel has doubled, by one and a half times, which prompted us to try to go carrying anything.” "Something, even if it's free, to allow us to cross."
Regarding the type of goods being transported, S.H. indicated to Al Jazeera Net that he cannot list everything, but they include clothes, fabrics, and foodstuffs. He also talked about the fact that the trucks are bulletproof and monitored via the GPS tracking system.
Representative Hassan Al-Riyati questioned the Jordanian government about the existence of a land bridge and did not receive an answer (local websites)
Government failure to respond
Al Jazeera Net tried to obtain an official Jordanian response about what was monitored on this road, and about the number of trucks that take it and compare it to the number of trucks that come from other routes, by communicating with Jordanian government spokesman Muhannad Mubaidin, and did not receive any response until the date of preparing this. report, but he had denied the existence of this bridge in a previous statement to Al Jazeera Net, considering it “allegations and allegations.”
Member of the Jordanian Parliament, Hassan Al-Riyati, had asked Prime Minister Bisher Al-Khasawneh questions about the details of this road. Al-Riyati told Al-Jazeera Net that he had not received any answers from the government, which prompted him to turn the questions into an interrogation, indicating that he did not expect to get an answer, as “ The government does not care about the MPs’ questions, which harms the national interest.”
Speaking to Al Jazeera Net, Al-Riyati said, "According to the bylaws of the House of Representatives, the question must be answered within 14 days. If the government does not answer, it is given a deadline and the question is referred for interrogation. It is obligated to respond within a month, and in light of the data, I do not think I will get an answer."
The MP added, "There is confirmed information about the significant increase in truck traffic, as well as the export of vegetables," and pointed out that "disabling the oversight machine indicates that this council is weak, and the government does not see it, and the government's violations have increased."
Source: Al Jazeera