Israel will open the Allenby Bridge border crossing between the West Bank and Jordan for 24-hour access beginning Oct. 24, roughly one month after U.S. President Joe Biden set the target date during his visit to Israel in July.
“We welcome news that Allenby/King Hussein Bridge will be open 24/7 for a pilot period beginning Oct. 24,” announced the U.S. Office of Palestinian Affairs on Wednesday.
“We and [the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem] continue to engage the government of Israel to increase efficiency & accessibility to the bridge for the benefit of Palestinians, as [Biden] said in July,” the statement added.
U.S. Ambassador to Israel Tom Nides praised the opening for a pilot period, saying the move “will make a real difference in people’s lives!”
Separately, Nides reiterated the Biden administration’s objective to limit settlement growth in Judea and Samaria.
“We do not support settlement growth. I made that position quite clear to the government, to all the players…including the prime minister,” Nides said in Jerusalem, according to The Jerusalem Post.
“We will continue working with the Israeli government to limit any settlement growth outside of green line Israel,” he added.
