Palestinians in West Bank stranded as Israel shuts only international crossing

The Israeli airports authority said the Allenby Bridge crossing would be closed indefinitely from Wednesday morning "at the direction of the political leadership", leaving more than two million Palestinians in the West Bank unable to access the outside world. The authority did not provide a reason for the closure.

The Allenby Bridge, also known as the King Hussein Bridge, sits roughly halfway between Amman and Jerusalem and is the West Bank's only official crossing with Jordan. It is the only entry point to the West Bank that does not pass through Israel. Most Palestinians in the West Bank are not allowed to travel through Israeli airports or other border crossings, making Allenby the essential link to the outside world.

Days earlier, two Israeli military personnel were shot dead near the crossing by a Jordanian gunman who was killed at the scene; the crossing had briefly closed after that incident but reopened.

Prominent Palestinian politician Mustafa Barghouti told the BBC it was a "dangerous move" that meant "imprisoning" people in the West Bank and "depriving them from the only passage out".

Jordan is home to more than 2 million registered Palestinian refugees, and more than half of its population of more than 11 million is of Palestinian descent. It has maintained security, trade and diplomatic ties with Israel since the 1994 peace treaty, but is a vocal critic of Israel's actions toward Palestinians.

Maxim Giacaman, 23, a medical student from Bethlehem, told the BBC he was unable to travel abroad for a key elective in his medical studies. "I have a rotation for one month in Germany for cardiac surgery," he said. "My plane is on Saturday and I was planning to go to Amman, Jordan today. So it's miserable."

The Allenby Bridge is a key trade route for goods and medical supplies into the West Bank. Israeli authorities say about 9% of humanitarian aid sent by truck to Gaza passes through it. Palestinians fear its indefinite closure forms part of an Israeli response to moves announced this week by the United Kingdom, France, Australia, Canada and other countries to recognise the State of Palestine. The Israeli government has labelled the moves a "reward for terrorism". Ultranationalist ministers have called for Israel to annex the West Bank outright as a response.

Since the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel that killed about 1,200 people and saw 251 taken hostage, triggering the war in Gaza, Israel has significantly tightened its control over the West Bank. It has introduced hundreds of new checkpoints across the territory, launched a large-scale Jewish settlement push, and carried out major military operations against Palestinian resistance groups. Attacks by Israeli settlers against Palestinians have also ramped up significantly. "It shows you that the world community has failed drastically in deterring Israel from expanding its oppressive policies," Barghouti said. "Israel will not be restrained unless there are serious punitive acts."

The Allenby Bridge was named after British General Edmund Allenby, who defeated the Ottoman Empire to gain control of Palestine in 1917. It was built the following year. Israel has controlled its side of the bridge since the 1967 Six-Day War and, in the past, has temporarily closed it during religious holidays or for security reasons.