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On January 21st, Jordan reopened its main border crossing with Syria, a key Middle East trade route, after keeping it closed for three years, an AFP photographer reported.
The border gate was opened at 8:00 AM local time, while more than a dozen police officers and customs officials stood nearby.
Several cars with Jordanian license plates lined up to enter Syria, with travelers expressing their joy at being able to cross the border, the photographer reported.
“Today is a celebration for us and I wanted to be among the first to cross the border,” said Syrian businessman Mohammed Hisham, who resides in Jordan.
Jordanian taxi driver Imad Sariheen called the reopening of Jaber a source of “great happiness for all of us” which will help ease “economic hardships” caused by the closure of the crossing.
“Our conditions have worsened over the past years. Our work (driving taxis) was halted because of the closure of the border between Jordan and Syria,” he added.
The reopening came after Syrian government forces took control of their side of the crossing in July 2018 under a Moscow-brokered deal with the militants.
Jordanian government spokeswoman Jumana Ghneimat announced the intended reopening of the Jaber crossing on January 20th. Syria’s Interior Minister Mohammed al-Shaar also confirmed the decision to reopen Jaber on the same day.
According to an agreement between Jordan and Syria, the traffic of goods and passengers would resume daily between 8:00 and 16:00 local time.
Syria also requested for Jordan to send an expert to help with border checks at Nassib where there are no X-ray machines, under the agreement.
“The accord stipulated that travellers entering Jordan from Syria “must obtain prior to their trip a security permit” from Jordanian authorities.
And those who plan to use Jordan as a transit stop en route to a third country must show proof of their residency permit in Syria as well as an entry visa to the country they plan to visit.”
Arab News also reported that Jordan decided to upgrade diplomatic ties with Syria.
According to a unnamed foreign ministry spokesman, an unnamed Jordanian diplomat with the ranking of advisor will begin work again at the Jordanian embassy in Damascus.
“The decision is inline with the Jordanian stance since the Syrian revolution erupted in 2011,” the spokesman said.
This follows a similar move from the UAE, which in December reopened its embassy in Damascus after seven years.
Sudan president, Omar Al-Bashir, became the first Arab leader to visit Damascus when he traveled there in December.
Furthermore, there is speculation that Saudi Arabia and others support the notion of allowing Syria back into the Arab League.
The restoration of trade and diplomacy will help both countries but the Syrian leaders will not forget Jordan’s involvement in the destructive war launched on Syria, and nor will the Syrian people.
In international politics there are no true friends… just national interests of every country that try to push their interests above all.
But still I agree stubbing in the back and destroying Syria was very ugly thing to do.
Plenty of Palestinians are christians.
The only reason I have mentioned Palestinians is because Jordanians are Palestinians also… For those who fight on Assad’s side I really don’t know their religious orientations
Secular,Humanist ,Socialist not religious ,barbaric ,Conservative like Zarkawi and HAMAS.
Well, Palestine is a very new word. Actually almost all are Syrians apart from the Israelian coastline and Aqaba and the Jew emmigrants.
I really dont get, why You would like chaotic conditions for the Jordanians as well like being in the same boat having not even a try for a west here and there. I realy dont get that kind of anti solidaruty.
More like the rest of the Syrains should copy the good differences into to Syria and Iraq. It seemes like You cant even learn from them. And remember they already has had a civile war between socalled Palaestines and socalled Beduins.
Jako is forced muslim not being allowed to recognize that. The only option looking like that is being a jew.
Many Palestinians are Assadists God Bless them but many became headchoppers in Syria /Iraq. The latter I curse.
Given Jordan are now majority Palestinian refugee -descendants ,I hope they turn on Dear Leader.
Even better is that they find peaceful way to remove the king. He has all US support and support of regional Arab dictatorships so it is not going to be easy to remove that asshole. He has very attractive wife…
Yes. She was. An American model if I am not mistaken. Good idea about removing him but nothing happens in Muslim states without blood.
She (was when young) absolutely the most beautiful woman I have ever seen in my life. When I see her face I have impression that I can watch her face forever and never get tired of it. That king was lucky bastard (even for a king) to get her .
Grovelling dogs who deservedly need to reform bonds with the Syrian people. How fitting that Jordan wants to do security checks on all who enter from Syria;they are terrified that some of the headchoppers they recruited,trained and paid may come for them in their own houses.
I hope the Jordanians are quaking in their own beds. THAT would be poetic justice. If the headchoppers took over Jordan I would not blink an eye at all. As long as they stay within those borders and go for the boss first I would be happy.
Yerrh, they should have civile war too and fight each other as spendables for nothing too. Very good ME branding hip-hip.
I allow me to see them in the middle and not being crushed, thats clever according to including all Jordanians as a soveriegn and respinsible state.
The stupid ones seemes to be You in those matters and for many years.
A: Jordan did not have much choice in this. It’s utterly dependent on Western and Saudi aid to keep its economy afloat. Whose bread you eat, whose words you are forced to speak. And B: history is full of countries and movements who stab each other in the back, and then cheerfully realign and become allies against a third party. Only to betray each other and realign again later. Sometimes the whole narrative of wars are like that.
As for the Syrian people I reckon they are just happy for any sense of normality to return to their lives, and this is one of them.
You certainly do well for no peace.
You dont talk for the Syrian people at all incl. the 500.000 dead ones if You dont have connection up there. You are scum making things worse only. Is ot more like home or what ?
King Abdullah was the first Arab League member to break ranks with the US coalition, he began negotiating an end to the war in Syria sometime before the end of 2017, most of the other pro US/Israel Arab League members joined his cause at about the same time or soon after. If he hadn’t broke ranks with the US coalition and negotiated a deal with Putin and Assad, his own country would have been broke within a year or two. Isis was also becoming a major problem in Jordan and Egypt, not so much militarily, but politically, which made the other Arab League nations start to wonder, just how easy it could be for their own countries to suffer the same fate as Assad and Syria had. Everyone needs security and everyone needs money, wars are bad for both. The ancient Greeks had a saying that went something like this, ‘men soon grow bored with singing, dancing and long for the excitement war’, but when men have been fighting and dying for too long, I think that saying reverses, it then becomes ‘men who grow weary of war long for the chance to sing and dance again’. Nations are just like men, It may have sounded like a good idea when the US and Israel first proposed a coalition against Assad, but after so many years of seeing just how much the Syrian war was harming their own countries in the process, they all began jumping off the Israeli/US bandwagon. I don’t think Abdullah is a good man at all, but he has done a good thing, he was the first to break ranks and started the process of ending the Syrian uprising/civil war, now all we need is for Erdogan to do the same, but he wont.
I agree. Its well done being able as a very weak one to stay and not have war.
Refugees for oil :)