بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
Al-Karamah Bridge between Overcrowding, Corruption, and VIP Classism
(Translated)
Al-Rayah Newspaper - Issue 564 - 10/09/2025 CE
In light of the collusion of the surrounding regional states against the Blessed Land of Palestine to tighten the siege on its people, harm them, and push them to leave their land and hand it over to the Jews, King Hussein Bridge (Allenby or Karameh) forms the main lifeline for the people of Palestine to the outside world. However, this crossing, which is supposed to be a means of transportation, has become a source of daily suffering for travellers, especially on the Jordanian side, where humanitarian, administrative, and political factors intersect to create an extremely harsh scene.
A press statement from the Media Office of Hizb ut Tahrir / Wilayah Jordan elaborated, “The crossing journey in both directions across the bridge may extend for long hours, sometimes exceeding ten hours, in conditions that lack the minimum of humanitarian services. The elderly, the sick, and women suffer doubly, as there are not enough seats nor places prepared for comfortable waiting, while the extreme heat in summer and the bitter cold in winter add weight to the experience of the crossers.”
The press statement continued, “What made matters worse is that the Jordanian authorities recently introduced a pre-booking system through specific travel offices, under the pretext of alleviating congestion and organizing traffic. However, reality showed that this system turned into a means of monopoly, corruption, and restriction on travellers; as it became difficult for the ordinary traveller to obtain a close booking, opening the door for the black market and ticket brokers, who are often state men, particularly those working on the bridge itself. Travelers complain that brokers cooperating with some offices buy the tickets and then sell them at doubled prices. This practice has become an additional burden on Palestinian families who are forced to pay huge sums in order to obtain urgent bookings, revealing a plotted conspiracy and opening the door to corruption and extortion, in addition to the complicity of the Jordanian regime with the Jewish entity in the process of tightening on the people of Palestine to forcibly displace them and make them flee from the torment of traveling to and from the Blessed Land.
The press statement further noted, “Alongside the black market, the VIP system reinforces a clear form of discrimination; in return for high amounts, exceeding 150 Jordanian dinars per person, the travellers receive special treatment that includes bypassing queues, shortening procedures, and traveling in air-conditioned buses. This service has turned the crossing into a class-based scene; whoever owns money passes quickly, while whoever does not remain captive to the long queues. The beneficiaries of this service are mostly Jordanian state men cooperating with the Jews in exploiting the people, looting their wealth, and sharing it.
It also emphasized, “The matter is not limited to congestion and corruption, but extends to a deeper psychological and political dimension; the suffering on the bridge is read by Palestinians as systematic humiliation, and as an indirect message that their movement is not free, and that their travel is conditional on their financial capacity or their patience with long suffering. Instead of being a bridge of connection, it has become a symbol of lost dignity and social disparity.”
The press statement concluded, “whoever looks at the state of the bridge realizes the summary of the conspiracy woven by the Jews, together with the tools of execution; the Palestinian Authority and the Jordanian regime, with the aim of tightening on the people of Palestine, weakening their determination and steadfastness, until they resort to fleeing from the Blessed Land to leave it clear for the Jews. The Jordanian regime remains a loyal guard for them on the longest border, while the Palestinian Authority continues to work as a spy and security arm for the Jews upon whoever remains of the people of Palestine.”