Implementation of the decision to extend the worknig hours of the Allenby Border Terminal

(Communicated by the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories)

The Spokesman of the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories announces that on Monday night, 21 October, the Allenby Border Terminal will be open for 24 hours, at the request of Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories Maj.-Gen. Eitan Dangot, in order to enable the return of the Hajj and Eid al-Adha pilgrims.

Furthermore, starting Thursday, 24 October, the working hours will be extended on Sundays through Thursdays from 07:30 to 01:30 the following night. This is one of the steps and gestures towards the Palestinian Authority, in accordance with the commitment of the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories during the Donors Conference in New York in September 2013.

The Allenby Border Terminal is a border-crossing between Israel and Jordan and between the Palestinian Authority and Jordan. It is located over the Jordan River, about 5 kilometers east of Jericho. The crossing serves as the "exit gate" of the Palestinian population on their way abroad, and also functions as a goods crossing between Israel and the Palestinian Authority to Jordan.

As every year for the Hajj and Eid al-Adha, the Airports Authority and the Civil Administration have prepared to ease the pilgrims' crossing on their exit and on their return. During the holiday this year, over 4000 exited through the Allenby Border Terminal.



Cabinet approves construction of a facility for the X-ray inspection of cargo at the Allenby Border Terminal

(Communicated by the Ministry for Regional Cooperation)

The Cabinet (Sunday, 20, October 2013) approved Regional Cooperation Minister Silvan Shalom's and Finance Minister Yair Lapid's plan to build an infrastructure for a permanent x-ray inspection system for cargo at the Allenby Border Terminal. Building the infrastructure is the initiative of the Finance Ministry, the Regional Cooperation Ministry, the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories and the Civil Administration in Judea and Samaria. The Allenby Border Terminal is the only crossing between Judea and Samaria and Jordan, and serves the Palestinians for the transit of people, and for the import and export of goods, to and from Jordan and Arab countries to the east, to and from the Palestinian Authority.

In order to further improve cargo service at the Allenby Border Terminal and assist the Palestinian economy, it became necessary to upgrade the x-ray inspection system. The new system, to be operated by Department of Customs and VAT personnel, will replace the existing system, which greatly slows the inspection and transit approval process and enables inspection and transit from the Terminal freight wing only, thus preventing the transit of goods requiring refrigeration.

The new system itself has been donated by the Dutch government following a survey of Palestinian businesspeople that evaluated the need to upgrade the system and which found that a new system could expand Palestinian exports to the east by approximately 30%. The survey was carried out in cooperation with the Regional Cooperation Ministry and the international Quartet.

The Finance Ministry, the Regional Cooperation Ministry, the Israel Tax Authority and the Civil Administration have invested NIS 35 million in building the infrastructure for the new system at the Allenby Border Terminal. It was determined that in order to simplify trade and cooperation with the Palestinians, it was necessary to build a full inspection facility similar to that which exists near the port of Haifa (see attached photo), including – inter alia – access, an appropriate building to protect the system and workers from radiation, and a building for manual inspections, all according to international standards.