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Washington Discontent with Tentative System to Open 24-hour Crossings between West Bank, Jordan

An Israeli sign points to the crossing of the King Hussein Bridge (Allenby).
An Israeli sign points to the crossing of the King Hussein Bridge (Allenby).
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Washington Discontent with Tentative System to Open 24-hour Crossings between West Bank, Jordan

An Israeli sign points to the crossing of the King Hussein Bridge (Allenby).
An Israeli sign points to the crossing of the King Hussein Bridge (Allenby).

Israel has launched a pilot program to open the crossings between the West Bank and Jordan around the clock, after months of pressure from the US administration, which viewed the matter as a positive initiative towards the Palestinians in the absence of a political horizon.

However, Washington voiced discontent with the Israeli plan, as it had expected the pilot program to extend for weeks or months.

Spokespersons for the Ministry of Transport and the Airports Authority told The Times of Israel that a trial period has been launched to test the ability of the Allenby Bridge crossing between the West Bank and Jordan to operate around the clock. The launch of the program was postponed several times, which had angered the US administration.

The United States announced during the summer that the Allenby Bridge (King Hussein) crossing would be open 24 hours a day throughout September, so that West Bank Palestinians could travel abroad through Jordan. But that did not happen, as the Israeli authorities informed the Americans that they did not have enough staff to meet the schedule.

The idea of a trial program was proposed instead, and the Ministry of Transportation announced that it would be launched on October 24. However, the head of the Airports Authority objected to presenting the plan in the middle of an election campaign. Thus, the Directorate of the Airports Authority met at a later time and decided to go ahead with the plan for one week.

The Director-General of the General Administration of Palestinian Borders and Crossings, Nazmi Muhanna, confirmed on Monday the change of working hours at Al-Karamah border point, which is the first crossing that leads to the Allenby Bridge.

In a statement, Muhanna said that Al-Karamah crossing would operate 24 hours a day for one week, from Sunday morning until Friday at 12:30 pm.

The Americans expressed their dissatisfaction with the plan. A senior US official said that the United States expected the trial program to extend over several weeks or months at least.

The US initiative came in light of a stifling crisis that Palestinians usually encounter during the summer period, as they have to pass through three crossings to exit the Palestinian territories.

The Palestinians are forced to pass through the Palestinian Karama Crossing and stamp their passports, then pay a tax before they move in buses to the Israeli Allenby Crossing, to be subjected to a second inspection and then via buses to King Hussein Bridge, for a third inspection before entering Jordan. As for those who will travel outside Jordan, they will also have to head to Queen Alia Airport.

The journey takes several hours, with long queues and high costs for departure and entry taxes, travel allowance and baggage transfer.

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Arab World

Long Waits for Canadian Visas Leave Gazans in Limbo

Reem Alyazouri and her husband, Ashraf Alyazouri, who escaped Gaza and reached Toronto, pose for a photograph in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, September 30, 2024. REUTERS/Carlos Osorio
Reem Alyazouri and her husband, Ashraf Alyazouri, who escaped Gaza and reached Toronto, pose for a photograph in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, September 30, 2024. REUTERS/Carlos Osorio
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Long Waits for Canadian Visas Leave Gazans in Limbo

Reem Alyazouri and her husband, Ashraf Alyazouri, who escaped Gaza and reached Toronto, pose for a photograph in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, September 30, 2024. REUTERS/Carlos Osorio
Reem Alyazouri and her husband, Ashraf Alyazouri, who escaped Gaza and reached Toronto, pose for a photograph in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, September 30, 2024. REUTERS/Carlos Osorio

Reem Alyazouri's escape from a bombarded Gaza City through Egypt ended in Toronto on Sept. 4.
But as she and her family wrestle with applications for work permits and health insurance, her mother and father remain stuck in Cairo waiting for Canadian visas after fleeing Israel's war in the Palestinian enclave of Gaza seven months ago, Reuters said.
"My mind is busy with my parents," she said. "I feel guilty, believe me. When I came here and I left them behind they told us, 'Go and start your life. ... Don't worry about us.'"
The family is trying to come to Canada through a temporary residence program for Gazans with relatives here. Alyazouri's brother Hani Abushomar, a Canadian citizen, applied for six of his family members to join him in Canada hours after the program was launched in January.
Nine months and a harrowing exit from Gaza later, his mother and father remain stranded in Cairo. They completed the last major step of the visa application process - submitting biometric information - six months ago.
They are among thousands of Palestinians waiting for visas from Canada, a country that prides itself on welcoming people from around the world.
Canada said in May it would bring in up to 5,000 Gazans - expanding on a pledge in December to take in 1,000 from the Palestinian enclave. Months later, just over 300 have arrived, with 698 applications approved out of over 4,200 submitted.
Reuters spoke with multiple applicants who said they have been waiting for months since submitting biometric information, dashing their hopes of a swift reunion with relatives in Canada.
Canada has made no promises on how long it would take to process visas for Gazans fleeing the conflict and says it has little control over who is able to leave the enclave.
A cross-border attack by Hamas militants on Oct. 7 last year, in which Israel says 1,200 people were killed and over 250 taken hostage, ignited the war that has flattened most of Gaza, displacing most of its 2.3 million people and killing more than 41,800 people, according to Gaza health authorities.
Canada's focus "is on keeping families together and bringing them to safety as quickly as possible," immigration department spokesperson Julie Lafortune wrote in an email. The primary barrier is getting out of Gaza, she added.
Application processing times vary "based on the details and complexity of each file, and many factors are outside of the IRCC's control," Lafortune said, referring to the Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada department.
The immigration department would not say how many applicants have submitted biometric information and are waiting in Egypt.
BARRIERS TO ENTRY
Immigration lawyers say the wait for Gazans is longer than those faced by other groups fleeing conflict or disaster, and that the small numbers approved contrast with hundreds of thousands of visas granted to Ukrainians under a similar program offering temporary status.
One Canadian immigration expert said some of the visa requirements for Gazans - such as having to provide employment information dating back to when they were 16 - are unusual.
"Canada has a lot of experience in designing temporary, ad hoc programs and this one has an inordinate amount of barriers and hurdles for people to meet," said University of Ottawa law professor Jamie Chai Yun Liew, who focuses on immigration.
Liew said the Gaza program is moving slower than other Canadian temporary immigration programs, including those for Ukranians and survivors of the 2023 earthquake in Syria and Türkiye.
As of April, Canada had approved nearly 963,000 applications under the Canada-Ukraine authorization for emergency travel since March 2022. So far nearly 300,000 people have arrived in Canada under that program.
Australia has granted about 3,000 visitor visas to people from Gaza since October 2023 and about 1,300 have arrived in the country, said Graham Thom, advocacy coordinator with the Refugee Council of Australia, a research and advocacy group.
'EVERYTHING IS UNCERTAIN'
Gazans who have managed to get to Egypt live in limbo, surviving off savings or donations, without access to government services, said immigration lawyer Debbie Rachlis, adding she represents dozens in that position. Many are survivors of trauma.
They beat the odds just by getting that far, and for most, the escape came at great personal risk. The Gaza City neighborhood where Alyazouri and Abushomar's family lived has been "erased," he said. They were forced to flee from their home multiple times. Alyazouri's daughter was injured.
"Something in my heart is broken," Alyazouri said.
The Canadian government said it continues to put forward the names of applicants to local Israeli officials, "but does not ultimately decide who can exit Gaza."
"Israel has agreed to Canada's request for the exit of extended family members in Gaza as part of their expanding humanitarian efforts. However, at present, the Rafah border crossing is closed,” Lafortune wrote, referring to the main entry point between Gaza and Egypt.
Abushomar has been waiting with his mother and father for visas in Egypt, where people in their position lack papers to work, access health care or open a bank account. He says he will eventually have to return to Canada to work and worries for his parents, especially his mother, who has dementia and joint problems.
For now, Abushomar says, "Everything is uncertain."