Jordanian authorities on Tuesday evening refused entry to around 100 Palestinian teachers from the Gaza Strip who have received employment offers in Qatar under the pretext of no previous coordination between the two countries, Palestinian Al-Ray news agency reported.
Mazen Al-Qishawi, one of the teachers, said that they encountered “tragic conditions” at Allenby Crossing between the occupied West Bank and Jordan, where they were denied access.
He described how the group were allowed through the first side of the crossing, which is run by the Israeli occupation, but were stopped on the Jordanian side.
The group contacted the Qatari embassy in Gaza, who told them that Jordan had blocked their entrance because of “security concerns”.
The Qatari embassy said that it was undertaking negotiations with Jordan to resolve the problem, stressing that it was working to secure temporary residence for the teachers either in Jericho or Ramallah.
According to Al-Qishawi, there were several pregnant women among the group, and they had not eaten at all that day. He also said that they were held in a place that lacked basic amenities such as toilets.
Al-Qishawi said that 100 out of 120 teachers arrived in Allenby Crossing. He said that Israeli soldiers sent back 20 teachers claiming they had false documents.
He called for all Palestinian, Jordanian and Qatari officials to work “seriously” to resolve this issue and to facilitate the teachers’ trip to Qatar before the situation turns into a “real tragedy”.