‘We kept President Joe Biden’s promise’ – to Israel or the Palestinians?

Despite his title of U.S. Ambassador to Israel, Nides has repeatedly said that the majority of his efforts are focused on Palestinian issues.

By Adina Katz, World Israel News

The Allenby Bridge Border Crossing between Israel and Jordan, which primarily serves Palestinian travelers and is the central point for the transfer of goods into the Palestinian Authority, will now be open 24 hours a day, 5 days a week, U.S. Ambassador to Israel Tom Nides announced on his Twitter account.

“We kept President Joe Biden’s promise. This is a win for Palestinians and Israelis alike!” wrote Nides, along with several photos of himself at the crossing.

In August 2022, Nides tweeted that during a trip to the region, Biden had pressured Israel to boost operational hours at the crossing.

Israel “is prepared to take measures to increase efficiency and accessibility to the Allenby Bridge for the benefit of Palestinians,” he wrote.

Despite the fact that Hady Amr serves as U.S. Special Representative for Palestinian Affairs and Nides’s official title is Ambassador to Israel, the envoy has repeatedly said that the majority of his efforts are focused on Palestinian issues.

“I spend 60 percent of my time trying to help the Palestinian people,” the diplomat said during a podcast interview in February 2023.

Speaking to Jewish Insider last week about a potential visa waiver agreement between Israel and the U.S., Nides made it clear that the deal was contingent upon the Jewish State rolling back a long-held security policy in favor of more convenient travel for Palestinians.

“If you’re a Palestinian-American living in Detroit, you have to be able to go from Detroit through Ben Gurion [Airport] to Ramallah to visit grandma,” he told the outlet.

“If you live in Ramallah and you’re a Palestinian-American, you have to be able to go to Ben Gurion and go visit grandma in Detroit. You would think that that’s just common sense, but that’s not what’s happened,” he said.

Nides failed to mention the reasons for the policy barring Palestinians from the airport, including multiple air hijackings by Palestinians and a 1972 massacre carried out by Palestinians terrorists at the airport, in which 24 people were murdered.

Nides added that “doing reciprocity means people will be treated the same… the devil’s in the details. We’re dead serious about this,” suggesting that the visa exemption deal would be off the table should Israel subject Palestinians using the airport to a different level of security scrutiny than Israeli Jews.

AllenbyAllenby BridgePalestinian AuthorityThomas NidesTom NidesUS Ambassador to Israel