US Ambassador to Israel Tom Nides has apparently superseded Israel’s elected government, issuing his own announcement this week that the Allenby Crossing from Israel to Jordan will be open 24 hours a day, five days a week.
Big news! As of today, the Allenby Bridge is now officially open 24/5. We kept @POTUS's promise. This is a win for Palestinians and Israelis alike! Special thanks to @Tzachi_Hanegbi, Major General Aliyan @COGATonline, and IAA Chairman Jerry Gershon for making this happen. pic.twitter.com/iK4Yp0lufc
— Ambassador Tom Nides (@USAmbIsrael) April 2, 2023
“Big news!” Nides wrote on his Twitter account. “As of today, the Allenby Bridge is now officially open 24/5. We kept @POTUS’s promise,” he bragged.
“This is a win for Palestinians and Israelis alike!” he continued, adding “special thanks to @Tzachi Hanegbi (Israel’s National Security Adviser), Major General Aliyan @COGATonline (IDF Coordinator for Government Activities in the Territories), and IAA (Israel Airports Authority) Chairman Jerry Gershon for making this happen.”
Whose promise, and to whom?
Nides has been scrutinizing Israel’s operation of the Allenby Crossing for months.
Following a deal reached last summer between then-caretaker Prime Minister and Yesh Atid chairman Yair Lapid and President Joe Biden to operate the crossing 24 hours a day, the ambassador doubled down on making sure Israel did what it was told, regardless of objections from the security sector.
The pilot project was launched in the final week leading up to Israel’s national elections despite objections from Gershon, who warned in a letter to Transportation Minister Merav Michaeli, “The instruction to open the Allenby Crossing 24/7 during the election period is not acceptable, even if it is a pilot. The Israel Defense Forces will not become a player in the political field, of necessity.”
In response, US Ambassador Nides issued a blunt directive in writing to make sure Israel made good on Lapid’s deal with Biden.
“A commitment was made by the Prime Minister of Israel, the Defense Minister, and the Transportation Minister, to the US President, to conduct a two-week pilot on October 24, and we expect that pilot to begin on the promised date,” Nides ordered.
The American ambassador also followed up, arriving at the Allenby Crossing soon after to make sure Israel carried out America’s orders to please the Palestinian Authority and its benefactor, Jordan.
Visited Allenby last night at midnight to see for myself in this pilot program what a difference it makes for people to get 24/7 access to the border crossing. Major step to @POTUS promise fulfilled! pic.twitter.com/8yoXETJHl1
— Ambassador Tom Nides (@USAmbIsrael) November 9, 2022
We welcome news that Allenby/King Hussein Bridge will be open 24/7 for a pilot period beginning Oct. 24. We + @USEmbassyJLM continue to engage the government of Israel to increase efficiency & accessibility to the bridge for the benefit of Palestinians, as @POTUS said in July.
— U.S. Office of Palestinian Affairs (@USPalAffairs) September 28, 2022
“We welcome news that Allenby/King Hussein Bridge will be open 24/7 for a pilot period beginning Oct. 24,” the US Office of Palestinian Affairs wrote in a tweet about a month earlier.
“We and @USEmbassyJLM (the US Embassy in Jerusalem) continue to engage the government of Israel to increase efficiency & accessibility to the bridge for the benefit of Palestinians, as @POTUS said in July.”
