Travel delays are Israel's fault, too, according to an award winning journalist

Dalia Hatuqa is a well-regarded and award-winning Palestinian journalist, who has published in Time, the Washington Post, The Economist and elsewhere. 

She wrote a Twitter thread yesterday about her frustrations at the delay of crossing the border between Jordan and Israel - blaming Israel for the delay.

There is currently a three hour wait at the Jordanian side of Allenby Bridge. Many of the people here are American citizens. Now tell me why the US is busy working on a visa waiver for Israel while we rot in literal hell at the border crossing

Still waiting. Been here since 11. Just been told by the Jordanian side that the number system they have doesn’t apply to people whose names are put on the list by a “minister” or someone “high up”. Some guy just told me he didn’t get a number and he already left for the Israeli side. 

Everyone is feeding off Palestinian misery and desperation. We pay $110 a person just to get on a shared bus to go through the bridge. And wait for three hours just so the Israelis can fuck with you. This is the quintessential Palestinian travel experience. 

To anyone following my bridge drama— I’ve finally made it home. What’s supposed to take 3 hours max took me 7 hours. That’s basically half way from Amman to Washington DC. I’m tired, hungry, thirsty but mostly angry and sad that this is what it takes to come home. 

I haven’t tasted this kind of humiliation since the second intifada. I am so emotionally and physically exhausted I slept from 9pm last night and woke up at noon today. Friends are on the bridge as we speak and they waited 5 hrs at the Jordanian side. The whole thing breaks you. 

You see, the evil Israelis are intent on humiliating Palestinians, and that's the reason for the delay, according to this award-winning journalist.

When someone commented to her, "Chill lady. I queued 3 hours at Heathrow yesterday." she responded, "Shut up. Queuing at Heathrow is a whole other ball game. You have no idea what you’re talking about. I don’t usually respond to nobodys but it’s obvious you’re privileged and have never tasted humiliation like this."

For Palestinians, every slight is a "humiliation" that is directed at them. No one else has problems, no one else suffers, and every Palestinian who is inconvenienced is a victim of a direct attack on their Palestinianism.

The problems at the Allenby Bridge crossing have nothing to do with "humiliation." It is very simple: the number of travelers is too high for the facilities to handle at peak times. (Ironically, Arabs call the crossing "Karama" - which means "dignity.")

UltraPal has an article about the delays at the crossing. It mentions that this is an issue every year during summer vacation - a crossing that normally takes one hour now take more than 8 (more than Hatuqa's journey.)  It is worse this year as people want to be with their families for the upcoming Eid al Adha holiday. 

The article highlights something that Hatuqa only alludes to: the delays prompt people to bribe Jordanian officials, who let some people go through first, and this exacerbates the problem for the rest.

UltraPal is not a pro-Israel publication but at no point does it claim that Israel is the reason for the delays. It does mention that Palestinian officials who are also at the crossing add to the delays themselves by searching travelers for smuggled cigarettes before they go on buses to the PA-controlled areas. 

To Palestinians, Israel is the yin and yang of all evil, therefore all their troubles are Israel's fault. This has the benefit of not allowing them to take responsibility for their own problems.

Hatuqa could use her platforms to publicize the bribery and favoritism on the Jordanian side of the crossing. She could mention how inadequate the facilities are. That could shame Jordan into cracking down on the problem. But instead she does what Palestinians are conditioned to do: blame Israel, which can do little to solve the problem on its own,  and therefore ensure that Palestinians will be perpetual victims. 

That is the role they have chosen, and it is a role that they relish.

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