Palestinians in West Bank Stranded as Israel Closes Only International Crossing

Mon Oct 20 2025 03:04:51 GMT+0300 (Eastern European Summer Time)

The closure of the Allenby Bridge crossing between the West Bank and Jordan leaves millions of Palestinians unable to travel, significantly impacting families and humanitarian access amidst rising tensions.

Israel has indefinitely closed the Allenby Bridge, the only crossing point between the West Bank and Jordan, affecting over two million Palestinians and preventing planned international travel. This closure comes in response to heightened security concerns and follows a recent incident involving a shooting. Prominent Palestinian leaders are expressing deep concern over the impacts on families and humanitarian access, raising fears that the closure is tied to Israeli actions against growing international support for Palestinian recognition.

Israel has closed the only crossing between the Israeli-occupied West Bank and neighbouring Jordan, stopping more than two million Palestinians from accessing the outside world.

The Israeli airports authority, which oversees the Allenby Bridge crossing, said it would be closed indefinitely from Wednesday morning 'at the direction of the political leadership'. It did not provide a reason.

The closure has stranded many Palestinians in the West Bank, who are unable to go on planned trips abroad. Those who are abroad have been unable to travel home.

It comes days after several Israeli military personnel were shot dead near the crossing by a Jordanian gunman, who was killed at the scene.

It was briefly shut following that incident but had since reopened. The crossing, known as the King Hussein Bridge, lies about halfway between Amman and Jerusalem and is the only official point between the West Bank and Jordan. It is also the only entry point to the West Bank that does not go through Israel.

Most Palestinians in the West Bank are not allowed to travel through Israeli airports or other Israeli border crossings, making the bridge an essential connection to the outside world.

Prominent Palestinian politician Mustafa Barghouti told the BBC it was a 'dangerous move' that meant 'imprisoning' people in the West Bank and 'depriving them from the only passage out'.

'You're talking here about disrupting the relationship between hundreds of thousands of families who are usually connected through Jordan,' he said.

'Thousands of people who are stuck in Jordan, they don't have resources to go and pay for hotels. They cannot stay outside. There are mothers who live with their children in the West Bank who need to come back,' he added.

Jordan is home to more than two million registered Palestinian refugees, while more than half of its population of over 11 million are of Palestinian descent. It has maintained security, trade and diplomatic ties with Israel since a 1994 peace treaty but is a vocal critic of Israel's actions towards Palestinians.

Maxim Giacaman, 23, a medical student from Bethlehem, expressed his frustration: 'I have a rotation for one month in Germany for cardiac surgery. And it was a big opportunity for me and for my future, my medical future.'

'My plane is on Saturday and I was planning to go to Amman, Jordan today. So it's miserable.'

The Allenby Bridge is crucial for trade and humanitarian supplies entering the West Bank, with about nine percent of humanitarian aid sent to Gaza passing through it.

Palestinians fear its indefinite closure forms part of an Israeli response to recognition moves announced by various countries towards the State of Palestine.

The Israeli government has labelled these moves a 'reward for terrorism', with ultranationalist ministers advocating for the annexation of the West Bank.

The closure follows escalated Israeli military operations and significant increases in checkpoints and settler violence in the region, raising concerns about ongoing and future humanitarian conditions.