Israel will on Friday reopen the only crossing between the occupied West Bank and Jordan, while restricting access to passenger traffic.
Lorries, which usually use the King Hussein Bridge, also known as the Allenby Bridge, to carry life-saving aid bound for Gaza, will not be allowed entry under the directive, the Israel Airports Authority said on Thursday.
Israel shut the crossing last Friday after a lorry driver delivering aid from Jordan for Gaza opened fire and killed two Israeli soldiers there. After briefly reopening it on Monday, Israeli authorities said they were closing the crossing indefinitely.
The bridge forms part of the Karama Crossing, which serves as the main thoroughfare for West Bank Palestinians intending to travel abroad and is also used by lorries carrying commercial goods between Jordan and the West Bank.
The UN says the crossing is a major route for bringing in food, tents and other goods into Gaza, and warned that its closure could have a significant impact on aid organisations ability to respond to the humanitarian crisis there.
The decision to partially reopen it was made in accordance with the “directive of the political echelon,” Israel's airports authority said.
Palestinians in the West Bank have lived under Israeli military occupation since 1967. There have been growing calls from some Israeli politicians to annex the territory, drawing alarm from Arab countries.
Those fears have been heightened by Israel's plans for new settlements in an ultra-sensitive area east of Jerusalem known as E1. Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich has been open about saying that this would “bury” the idea of a Palestinian state.
US President Donald Trump on Thursday said he would not allow Israel to annex the West Bank. His comments came two days after he met Arab leaders on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly.
Israeli troops regularly use force in the West Bank in what are typically described as counter-terrorism operations. Attacks by Israeli settlers have also increased, although they are rarely punished by the authorities.
The crossing's closure comes shortly after a number of western nations recognised a Palestinian state − to which Israel has vowed a harsh response.
Israeli media reported that the closure order came from the country’s political leadership. Officials managing the crossing “have not yet received an explanation for the closure”, said Itay Blumenthal, a military correspondent for Channel 11.
Palestinian politician Mustafa Barghouti said the decision “practically imprisons the whole Palestinian population in the West Bank”.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Types of bank fraud
1) Phishing
Fraudsters send an unsolicited email that appears to be from a financial institution or online retailer. The hoax email requests that you provide sensitive information, often by clicking on to a link leading to a fake website.
2) Smishing
The SMS equivalent of phishing. Fraudsters falsify the telephone number through “text spoofing,” so that it appears to be a genuine text from the bank.
3) Vishing
The telephone equivalent of phishing and smishing. Fraudsters may pose as bank staff, police or government officials. They may persuade the consumer to transfer money or divulge personal information.
4) SIM swap
Fraudsters duplicate the SIM of your mobile number without your knowledge or authorisation, allowing them to conduct financial transactions with your bank.
5) Identity theft
Someone illegally obtains your confidential information, through various ways, such as theft of your wallet, bank and utility bill statements, computer intrusion and social networks.
6) Prize scams
Fraudsters claiming to be authorised representatives from well-known organisations (such as Etisalat, du, Dubai Shopping Festival, Expo2020, Lulu Hypermarket etc) contact victims to tell them they have won a cash prize and request them to share confidential banking details to transfer the prize money.
If you go
The flights
Etihad (etihad.com) flies from Abu Dhabi to Luang Prabang via Bangkok, with a return flight from Chiang Rai via Bangkok for about Dh3,000, including taxes. Emirates and Thai Airways cover the same route, also via Bangkok in both directions, from about Dh2,700.
The cruise
The Gypsy by Mekong Kingdoms has two cruising options: a three-night, four-day trip upstream cruise or a two-night, three-day downstream journey, from US$5,940 (Dh21,814), including meals, selected drinks, excursions and transfers.
The hotels
Accommodation is available in Luang Prabang at the Avani, from $290 (Dh1,065) per night, and at Anantara Golden Triangle Elephant Camp and Resort from $1,080 (Dh3,967) per night, including meals, an activity and transfers.
Cherry
Directed by: Joe and Anthony Russo
Starring: Tom Holland, Ciara Bravo
1/5
Who was Alfred Nobel?
The Nobel Prize was created by wealthy Swedish chemist and entrepreneur Alfred Nobel.
- In his will he dictated that the bulk of his estate should be used to fund "prizes to those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind".
- Nobel is best known as the inventor of dynamite, but also wrote poetry and drama and could speak Russian, French, English and German by the age of 17. The five original prize categories reflect the interests closest to his heart.
- Nobel died in 1896 but it took until 1901, following a legal battle over his will, before the first prizes were awarded.
SUZUME
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