Every morning, crowds of people pack into the Karameh (King Hussein) border crossing between Palestine and Jordan . Children cry, patients wait, and expatriates watch their holidays disappear while remaining unable to cross.
The crisis at the Karameh crossing (also known as the King Hussein Bridge) recurs every year at the start of the summer season, as tens of thousands of Palestinian expatriates return to spend their holidays, visit relatives, attend family occasions, or register children born abroad.
What was once a seasonal problem has become a complex humanitarian, economic and political crisis.
In recent weeks, social media has been filled with photos and videos showing thousands of Palestinians stranded on the Jordanian side . Some lay on the ground for long hours, while others spent days waiting for an opportunity to cross into the occupied West Bank.
The crossing is the only land gateway for occupied West Bank residents and the route connecting them to the outside world. It is also a vital economic artery through which trade, tourism, investment, students and patients pass.
On Tuesday, 30 June, the Interior Ministry decided to ban 468 people from entering Jordan or travelling through the bridge while opening investigations into suspected manipulation of electronic booking appointments.
State broadcaster Al Mamlaka quoted an Interior Ministry official as saying the decision followed the discovery that individuals had repeatedly booked travel appointments to resell them and profit from price differences, thereby reducing opportunities for people wishing to travel for non-commercial purposes.
The entry and travel bans were imposed after it was found that those concerned had booked appointments at least five times during July.
Last week, Jordan's Interior Minister Mazen Al-Faraya expressed his anger during an inspection visit to "King Hussein Bridge", describing the services and congestion as "garbage".
Palestinian Mahmoud Zammar, who lives in Saudi Arabia, never imagined that the annual holiday he had long awaited to visit his family in the occupied West Bank would become a nightmare.
He told The New Arab , "I decided to travel to Jordan before entering Palestine, but I discovered that the nearest available appointment on the electronic booking platform was weeks away, while my limited holiday does not allow me to wait."
For several years, 50-year-old Palestinian Ghanem has crossed the border twice a week with his child, who receives treatment in the Jordanian capital, Amman.
His most recent journey, however, was the most difficult.
He told The New Arab , "Although I booked in advance through the platform, I was surprised to find that the crossing was closed, and I had to pay for the private service to return.
"What is happening is humiliating, and we are subjected to rude treatment that we did not experience before. The employees know me and know my child because I travel constantly, but that changed nothing. We are always told that the occupation is the one closing the bridge and reducing working hours, but there are exceptions and favouritism," he remarked.
Hilmi Al-Araj, director of the Hurriyat rights centre, told The New Arab that there is a systematic violation of the dignity of Palestinians and their fundamental right to freedom of movement.
He held the Israeli occupation responsible for the daily sufferin g travellers endure.
"Travel through the Karameh crossing is no longer an issue affecting a specific group of citizens. It has become one of the most prominent issues in the Palestinian street because of its direct impact on all sectors of society, from patients, students and workers to women, children and older people," he said.
"What is happening at the crossing represents a form of collective punishment prohibited under international law and amounts to inhuman and degrading treatment. [Israel] uses the crossings as a means of harassing Palestinians by imposing restrictions and complex procedures that affect their natural right to movement and travel," al-Araj added.
"These practices violate international humanitarian law and human rights conventions that guarantee freedom of movement. Calls to open the Karameh crossing 24 hours a day are no longer limited to rights organisations or popular campaigns but have become a national issue bringing together civil society organisations, journalists, activists and citizens," he further noted.
Al-Araj called on the Palestinian and Jordanian governments to take steps to ease the suffering of citizens, including reorganising the electronic booking system, ensuring adherence to appointments, preventing manipulation or violations in queues and procedures, increasing staff numbers, improving reception and waiting conditions, expanding halls and facilities for travellers, and combating bribery and extortion that citizens complain about.
"These measures, despite their importance, remain partial solutions that do not address the root of the problem. The fundamental solution lies in exerting genuine political, legal and international pressure on the Israeli occupation to stop its violations and guarantee Palestinians the right to move freely and with dignity," he remarked.
Amin Annabi, coordinator of the "Our Right... The Bridge 24/7" campaign, told TNA that what is happening at King Hussein Bridge is not a technical crisis but the result of deliberate policies and measures to restrict the movement of citizens by reducing operating hours and limiting traveller numbers, constituting a violation of the internationally guaranteed right to freedom of movement.
He said that "the campaign is a national grassroots initiative launched to defend Palestinians' right to move and travel around the clock. It includes academics, activists and civil society organisations seeking solutions to the crisis."
The campaign calls for the bridge to operate 24 hours a day without arbitrary restrictions, urgent humanitarian crossing mechanisms for patients, older people and people with disabilities, the formation of an independent Palestinian-Jordanian follow-up committee, recognition of the bridge crisis as a national human rights issue, and efforts to internationalise it through the United Nations.
According to figures from the Palestinian General Authority for Borders and Crossings , the Karameh crossing recorded more than 1.55 million passenger movements during 2025, including around 769,000 arrivals and 787,000 departures.
Despite this figure, the crossing continues to operate with limited hours that have been significantly reduced since the outbreak of Israel's genocidal war on Gaza in October 2023, reducing its daily capacity. Jordan Interior Ministry spokesperson Abdul Karim Abu Dalo told The New Ara b that the overcrowding and delays at King Hussein Bridge are linked to restrictions imposed by the Israeli side on departing passenger numbers and operating hours.
"Jordan receives all Palestinian travellers around the clock, and King Hussein Bridge is a vital artery and the Palestinians' gateway to the world," he said. "The ministry follows up on all observations and complaints and works in coordination with the relevant authorities to address them and strengthen the operating system in an integrated manner."
Abu Dalo said that "Jordanian political and diplomatic efforts continue with the Israeli side to increase traveller numbers, and Jordan's Interior Minister Mazen Al-Faraya conducts regular field visits to the crossing to assess conditions and follow up on travellers' observations.
"This has resulted in a range of improvements at both the service and operational levels, as well as infrastructure upgrades," Abu Dalo said.
The Jordan Interior Ministry spokesperson added, "The main challenges are linked to the congestion resulting from the travel equation.
"The problem is concentrated in outbound traffic towards the Palestinian territories because the Israeli side controls the opposite side and imposes restrictions, including a daily ceiling of only 3,000 departing travellers, in addition to limiting bus numbers and official operating hours," noted the spokesperson.
"These measures lead to congestion and delays, especially during peak travel seasons. To deal with this reality, the electronic platform was created. The crisis is not permanent but seasonal, particularly during the summer holidays and the Umrah and Hajj seasons, when traveller numbers multiply," he added.
Abu Dalo said work is underway to improve traveller facilities and waiting halls and equip them with air conditioning and essential services to provide the best possible travel conditions.
He urged travellers to adhere to the travel times specified on their electronic tickets, purchase tickets only through the electronic platform, arrive one hour before departure rather than four or five hours in advance, and avoid travelling to the bridge without first obtaining an electronic ticket.
He said these practices increase congestion and disrupt operations because of large gatherings of travellers.
Before Israel's genocidal war on Gaza, more than 16,000 people crossed the bridge daily during peak seasons. That figure now stands at no more than 6,000.
Many hold the Israeli occupation authorities responsible for the crisis because they effectively control the crossing.
About a year ago, the Jordanian authorities launched an advanced electronic booking system for travellers returning to the occupied West Bank and promoted the platform as the long-awaited solution to end chaos and waiting lines.
However, many travellers say the electronic platform has become part of the problem rather than the solution.
At the height of the current season, thousands were surprised to find that the nearest available booking date was more than a month away.
Travellers say tickets disappear within minutes of being released, while advertisements for selling bookings and appointments at higher prices spread across social media.
Many also complain about the lack of an effective mechanism to re-issue cancelled tickets or modify bookings, resulting in many available seats going to waste and worsening the existing congestion.
But the crisis does not end with waiting.
The owner of a tourism company in Nablus said, "A traveller may have to wait a month or more to obtain a return appointment, leading to a boom in VIP services, which provide fast-track passage in exchange for payment.
"Those who can pay hundreds of additional dollars find a quicker route across, while thousands of other travellers remain stuck in long queues or wait weeks for an appointment."
The bridge has seen a series of visits by Jordanian and Palestinian officials.
Palestinian Interior Minister Ziad Hab Al-Reeh revealed understandings and joint plans with the Jordanian side to rehabilitate facilities and improve services.
However, travellers said these promises have been repeated while conditions remain unchanged, with scenes of congestion and long queues returning whenever traveller numbers increase. Article translated from Arabic by Afrah Almatwari. To read the original, click here .