The Compass – Muhammad Saad

The issue of the travel of about 18 Palestinians through the Israeli “Ramon” airport is still interacting on the Jordanian arena, amid a state of bickering, exchanging accusations, and bitter complaints from tourism companies and other Jordanian sectors about the possibility of suffering great economic and political losses.

While some believe that the Jordanian government failed to put pressure on Tel Aviv to prevent the establishment of this airport for violating the standards of the International Federation of Aviation, and stopped following up on its complaint that it submitted in 2015, others, including tourism agents, called for thwarting Ramon Airport by providing facilities to the Palestinians.

In response to the demand for “the withdrawal of the temporary and permanent Jordanian passport from the Palestinians who will travel through Ramon Airport,” economic expert Munir Deh asks, “Does the withdrawal of passports serve Jordan and benefit it and prevent the Palestinians from using that airport? Is this procedure compatible with the desires of the Israelis to Disengagement of Palestinians from Jordan through travel and the issuance of passports?

Representative Khalil Attia had called on the Jordanian government to prevent the entry of any Palestinian who previously used the “Israeli” Ramon Airport to Jordan, and to stop dealing with it. He also called on the government to seek to permanently close the travel and tourism companies that deal with Ramon Airport.

Dyah added in statements that arrived, “compass“There is no doubt that there will be great economic losses for many sectors in Jordan if the project of Palestinian travel through Ramon Airport continues.”

He referred to these losses in the transportation and services sector, tourism and travel offices, government revenues from taxes, fees for renewal and issuance of passports and other documents, and the residence of Palestinians in Jordan during their departure and return, explaining, “We do not forget that there are 3 million travelers through the King Hussein Bridge annually, and this is due to the treasury and the citizens.” and sectors with benefit and material benefit.”

The occupation is promoting – in order to encourage travel through the airport – information about “facilities in transportation, and a decrease in the prices of flights departing from Ramon, compared to other airports.

Dayyeh believes that dealing with the issue of Palestinian travel through Ramon Airport requires Jordan to review all procedures and provide all possible facilities so that Jordan remains the first choice for the Palestinians, pointing out that what happened on the King Hussein Bridge this summer of suffocating crises and the traveler’s stay for long days until he can pass.

Although Prime Minister Bishr al-Khasawneh did not explicitly address the problem of Ramon Airport during the opening of the Ramah station in Jericho last week, he confirmed that he had held a discussion with his Palestinian counterpart, regarding “the possible facilitation for our brothers in the West Bank when traffic through the King Hussein Bridge.”

Dee warns, saying, “It has become clear that the countries in the region are seeking their political and economic interests, and we must realize this quickly and change our procedures to preserve our national interests.”

Secretary of the Association of Tourism Agents, Basem Al-Ghalayini, said that Jordanian travel and tourism companies rely heavily on Palestinian travelers, who constitute 40-50 percent of the work volume of these companies.

He pointed out that the Israeli occupation seeks to make Ramon Airport a success by relying on the Palestinians, by providing facilities for travelers.

He explained that tourism companies in Jordan build their sales estimates and reserve seats with various international airlines and hotels, considering the presence of the Palestinian traveler within their market share, in addition to the Jordanian traveler.

He said: The Jordanian government move in the face of this problem is very timid, and demanded government measures to prevent Palestinians from using the Israeli Ramon Airport by providing more facilities to the Palestinian brothers, providing them with comfort, and granting them the exemptions they need to facilitate their movement through Jordan.

He expressed his confidence in the Palestinians’ failure of Ramon Airport with their awareness, and what Jordan constitutes of a strategic depth for the Palestinian brotherhood.

For his part, the head of the Syndicate of Owners of Clearance and Goods Transport Companies and Offices in Jordan, Dhaifallah Abu Aqoula, said that the movement of passengers through Queen Alia Airport will be greatly affected if Ramon Airport succeeds in attracting Palestinian travelers, due to the obstacles imposed by the Israeli occupation authorities on Palestinian travelers through Jordan to discourage them. about using the bridge.

In statements to Quds Press, Abu Aqoula pointed out that the trade movement is growing significantly between Jordan and Palestine, and that transit trade has increased by about 550 percent this year over its rates for the last year.

He explained that the transit trade between Jordan and the Palestinian Authority flourished a lot with the facilities and exemptions offered by Jordan, which made the port of Aqaba the ideal place for importing goods and transporting them to the King Hussein Bridge.

As for the Palestinian researcher at the Social and Economic Policies Observatory, Iyad Riahi, he says that traveling through the airport will cause economic losses to Palestine and Jordan, and a decrease in the number of travelers through Queen Alia Airport in Amman.

Riahi believes, in a press statement, that “the occupation is promoting the issue of facilities to attract the largest possible number of West Bank citizens to operate the airport and earn money, and that it will later return to placing restrictions and restrictions on travel after its success in attracting the largest number of travelers.”

He points out that the occupation will later deliberately blackmail the Palestinians traveling through the airport, and put in place security measures and arrogance, such as the “issue of treatment permits.”

The occupation opened Ramon Airport in 2019, but the Israelis do not want to travel through it because it is far from the center, as it is about 340 kilometers from the occupied city of Jerusalem.
The area of ​​the airport, whose construction cost amounted to $500 million, is about 14,000 dunams, and is the second largest in Israel.

Palestinian Mervat Omar says, “The suffering of traveling through Jordan never justifies traveling through an Israeli airport.”

“Ramon Airport, a failed economic project that they want to save through the Palestinians, after it failed to attract the Israelis,” she told Anadolu Agency.

And she continued: “Traveling through Jordan has benefits, including that it allows West Bankers to visit their relatives (in Jordan), and pass without the stigma of normalization with your killer, and there are no joint trips with the Israelis.”

Gad Obeid agrees with Omar, telling Anadolu Agency that there are “a thousand reasons for him to boycott Ramon Airport.”

He added: “My personal, national decision is to boycott Ramon Airport and all Israeli products… This is an occupation. Our struggle against it is my existence, either us or it.”

Obaid called on the Jordanian authorities to facilitate the travel process, with the aim of “cutting off the road for the Israeli authorities.”