Israel Plans To Reopen West Bank Crossing - Jordan At The Allenby Bridge Today

The Allenby Bridge is from the Jordanian side. (Wikimedia Commons/Abutoum)

JAKARTA - Israel plans to reopen the main crossing between Jordan and the West Bank, for the first time since September, on Wednesday for goods and aid traffic, an Israeli security official said.

Crossing the Allenby Bridge or Raja Hussein Bridge, was closed after truckers carrying humanitarian aid to Gaza opened fire and killed two Israeli military personnel, before being shot dead by security forces.

In recent weeks, "security adjustments" have been made at the crossing, both on the Israeli side and Jordan, the Israeli official said.

"In addition, security screening and profile procedures for Jordanian drivers and truck contents have been tightened, and special security forces have been assigned to secure crossings," the official said.

Allenby's crossing is the main route for trade between Jordan and Israel and the main gateway, and is often the only one, for more than three million Palestinians on the Israeli-occupied West Bank to reach Jordan and a wider world.

Violence in the West Bank has increased sharply since the Hamas attack on Israel in October 2023 sparked a Gaza war. Israel has launched a military offensive in the West Bank since then, which they say is a crackdown on Palestinian militants.

Tens of thousands of civilians have fled, and although many of the dead were militants, Palestinians and human rights groups said dozens of stone-throwers and civilians had died.

Violence has not stopped despite a fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hamas taking effect in October.

Israeli troops or settlers have killed more than 1,000 Palestinians, many of whom are militants, but also dozens of civilians, in the West Bank since the start of the Gaza war, according to AFP calculations based on Palestinian Health Ministry figures.

At least 44 Israelis, including soldiers and civilians, have been killed in Palestinian attacks or Israeli military operations, according to Israeli official figures.