Jordan’s Interior Ministry on Wednesday denied reports that its measures restricting Palestinians' travel to Jordan had been cancelled, reported the Jordan Times on Thursday.
“Measures taken at the point of entry via the King Hussein Bridge on the River Jordan remain in place and have not been cancelled or suspended,” Minister of Interior Awad Khleifat said in a statement.
Earlier on Tuesday, Palestinian Minister of Civil Affairs Jamil Tarifi, who was in Amman for talks with Khleifat, told the press that the measures had been eliminated.
“We agreed that things would return to the former situation before the [recent] measures were taken,” Tarifi had told the paper.
In issuing the restrictions last week, the ministry said the measures were temporary and intended to prevent Israel from forcing the Palestinians to leave their homeland.
Khleifat was quoted as telling the official Jordanian news agency, Petra, that the measures at the bridge concerned green card holders who had to obtain permits from the ministry before visiting the kingdom.
“These measures do not constitute any restrictions for green card holders, but rather, regulate procedures for their visit and stay in the country,” Khleifat noted.
The minister said Tarifi, along with other Palestinian officials, considered the measures mere regulatory procedures and a way of supporting the Palestinian people's Intifada and thwarting Israeli plots against the Palestinian people.
“Travel across the bridges is proceeding smoothly, and the bridge authorities have received directives to facilitate the entry and departure of the Palestinian citizens,” Khleifat said – Albawaba.com
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