The Allenby Bridge (English name; he, גשר אלנבי ''Gesher Allenby''), known officially in Jordan as the King Hussein Bridge ( ar, جسر الملك حسين ''Jisr al-Malek Hussein''), and also called Al-
Karameh
Al-Karameh ( ar, الكرامة), or simply Karameh, is a town in west-central Jordan, near the Allenby Bridge which spans the Jordan River. Karameh sits on the eastern bank of the river, along the border between Jordan, Israel, as well as the Is ...
Bridge by Palestinian Arabs, is a
bridge
A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually someth ...
that crosses the
Jordan River
The Jordan River or River Jordan ( ar, نَهْر الْأُرْدُنّ, ''Nahr al-ʾUrdunn'', he, נְהַר הַיַּרְדֵּן, ''Nəhar hayYardēn''; syc, ܢܗܪܐ ܕܝܘܪܕܢܢ ''Nahrāʾ Yurdnan''), also known as ''Nahr Al-Shariea ...
near the city of
Jericho
Jericho ( ; ar, أريحا ; he, יְרִיחוֹ ) is a Palestinian city in the West Bank. It is located in the Jordan Valley, with the Jordan River to the east and Jerusalem to the west. It is the administrative seat of the Jericho ...
, and connects the
West Bank
The West Bank ( ar, الضفة الغربية, translit=aḍ-Ḍiffah al-Ġarbiyyah; he, הגדה המערבית, translit=HaGadah HaMaʽaravit, also referred to by some Israelis as ) is a landlocked territory near the coast of the Mediter ...
with
Jordan
Jordan ( ar, الأردن; tr. ' ), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,; tr. ' is a country in Western Asia. It is situated at the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe, within the Levant region, on the East Bank of the Jordan Rive ...
. The bridge is currently the sole designated exit/entry point for
West Bank
The West Bank ( ar, الضفة الغربية, translit=aḍ-Ḍiffah al-Ġarbiyyah; he, הגדה המערבית, translit=HaGadah HaMaʽaravit, also referred to by some Israelis as ) is a landlocked territory near the coast of the Mediter ...
Palestinians
Palestinians ( ar, الفلسطينيون, ; he, פָלַסְטִינִים, ) or Palestinian people ( ar, الشعب الفلسطيني, label=none, ), also referred to as Palestinian Arabs ( ar, الفلسطينيين العرب, label=non ...
traveling abroad.
Being 381 meters (1,250 ft) below sea level, it is the lowest fixed water crossing in the world.
History
In 1885 the
Ottoman government of the
Mutasarrifate of Jerusalem
The Mutasarrifate of Jerusalem ( ota, مُتَصَرِّف قدسی مُتَصَرِّفلغ, ; ar, متصرفية القدس الشريف, ), also known as the Sanjak of Jerusalem, was an Ottoman district with special administrative status ...
built a bridge at this site.
In 1918
British general Edmund Allenby
Field Marshal Edmund Henry Hynman Allenby, 1st Viscount Allenby, (23 April 1861 – 14 May 1936) was a senior British Army officer and Imperial Governor. He fought in the Second Boer War and also in the First World War, in which he led th ...
built a bridge over the remnant of the Ottoman predecessor.
[ It was first destroyed by the ]1927 Jericho earthquake
The 1927 Jericho earthquake was a devastating event that shook Mandatory Palestine and Transjordan on July 11 at . The epicenter of the earthquake was in the northern area of the Dead Sea. The cities of Jerusalem, Jericho, Ramle, Tiberias, and Na ...
, when it fell apart and collapsed into the river.
It was destroyed again in the Night of the bridges operation by Palmach
The Palmach (Hebrew: , acronym for , ''Plugot Maḥatz'', "Strike Companies") was the elite fighting force of the Haganah, the underground army of the Yishuv (Jewish community) during the period of the British Mandate for Palestine. The Palmach ...
on 16 June 1946, thus severing one of the main overland connections between Mandatory Palestine
Mandatory Palestine ( ar, فلسطين الانتدابية '; he, פָּלֶשְׂתִּינָה (א״י) ', where "E.Y." indicates ''’Eretz Yiśrā’ēl'', the Land of Israel) was a geopolitical entity established between 1920 and 1948 ...
and Transjordan. The next destruction occurred during the 1967 Six-Day War
The Six-Day War (, ; ar, النكسة, , or ) or June War, also known as the 1967 Arab–Israeli War or Third Arab–Israeli War, was fought between Israel and a coalition of Arab states (primarily Egypt, Syria, and Jordan) from 5 to 10 ...
, after which was replaced in 1968 with a temporary truss-type bridge. In 1994, subsequent to the Israel-Jordan peace treaty, a new modern paved crossing was constructed adjacent to the older wooden one with the aid of the Japanese Government
The Government of Japan consists of legislative, executive and judiciary branches and is based on popular sovereignty. The Government runs under the framework established by the Constitution of Japan, adopted in 1947. It is a unitary state, ...
.
Allenby Bridge border crossing
Since the 1994 Israel–Jordan peace treaty, the Allenby Bridge Terminal is operated by the Israel Airports Authority.[About: Alleby Bridge]
Israel Airports Authority. It serves as a border crossing between the west and east banks of the Jordan River. The Jordanian authorities recognize the bridge as an international border entry point, but neither grant entry visas to foreign passport holders at this crossing, unlike the country's other border crossings with Israel, nor stamp the passports of departing travelers. Palestinians traveling abroad can use Allenby Bridge to exit the West Bank into Jordan and then use the Queen Alia International Airport in Amman
Amman (; ar, عَمَّان, ' ; Ammonite: 𐤓𐤁𐤕 𐤏𐤌𐤍 ''Rabat ʻAmān'') is the capital and largest city of Jordan, and the country's economic, political, and cultural center. With a population of 4,061,150 as of 2021, Amman is ...
to fly abroad. Travel permits from both Israeli and Jordanian authorities are required, with varied stringency depending on the prevailing political situation.
Israeli citizens are not permitted to use the terminal, except Israeli Muslims making a pilgrimage to Mecca to perform the Hajj
The Hajj (; ar, حَجّ '; sometimes also spelled Hadj, Hadji or Haj in English) is an annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, the holiest city for Muslims. Hajj is a mandatory religious duty for Muslims that must be carried o ...
and Umrah
The ʿUmrah ( ar, عُمْرَة, lit=to visit a populated place) is an Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca (the holiest city for Muslims, located in the Hejazi region of Saudi Arabia) that can be undertaken at any time of the year, in contrast to t ...
. Such pilgrims were allowed to use the Allenby Bridge crossing for the first time in 1978, after Jordan and Saudi Arabia permitted Israeli Arabs to join the hajj in 1977. Tourists who wish to travel to Jordan may have to be in possession of a visa from Jordan in advance, depending on their nationality. Tourists and inhabitants of East Jerusalem may travel directly to an Israeli terminal, although Palestinians from the West Bank have to start the departure procedure at the special Palestinian border terminal in Jericho city.
The Jordanian side of the bridge has a branch of the Bank of Jordan for the exchange of currencies.
File:Opening of the Allenby Bridge (1918).jpg, The opening of the original Allenby Bridge in 1918
File:Allenby Bridge LOC Matson 22904.jpg, Larger bridge built in the 1930s next to the original one visible behind it
File:King Hussein Bridge.jpg, Allenby ( King Hussein) Bridge after being blown up by the Palmach
The Palmach (Hebrew: , acronym for , ''Plugot Maḥatz'', "Strike Companies") was the elite fighting force of the Haganah, the underground army of the Yishuv (Jewish community) during the period of the British Mandate for Palestine. The Palmach ...
in 1946
File:Allenby bridge destroyed after 1967 war.png, The bridge after being destroyed by Israel during the 1967 Six-Day War
The Six-Day War (, ; ar, النكسة, , or ) or June War, also known as the 1967 Arab–Israeli War or Third Arab–Israeli War, was fought between Israel and a coalition of Arab states (primarily Egypt, Syria, and Jordan) from 5 to 10 ...
File:King Hussein Bridge Palestine occupied side.jpg, King Hussein Bridge inscription (western end), 2013
In the arts
The Allenby crossing is the locus of a 1971 song by Nurit Hirsh, ''Gesher Bailey'' (Bailey bridge
A Bailey bridge is a type of portable, pre-fabricated, truss bridge. It was developed in 1940–1941 by the British for military use during the Second World War and saw extensive use by British, Canadian and American military engineering units ...
- referring to the temporary truss bridge) sung by Yehoram Gaon.
See also
* Death of Raed Zeiter
References
External links
US Consular Information Sheet - Jordan
* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20120204222708/http://www.jordanriver.jo/articles/pdf.pdf Crossing the River Jordan (Jordan River Foundation)
Allenby Border Terminal info
Original bridge, ''circa'' 1893, burnt by the Turks during WWI
{{Authority control
Bridges completed in 1968
Bridges in Jordan
Bridges over the Jordan River
Jordan–West Bank border crossings
Toll bridges