Jordan denies existence of 'land bridge' to Israel to bypass Houthis

The Jordanian Transportation Ministry denied reports that a land route for shipments from the Persian Gulf to Israel, in order to bypass the Houthi blockade, had been established passing through Jordan on Saturday, according to Jordan's state news agency.

On Saturday, Walla reported that a pilot for a new land route for trucks to travel from the ports in Dubai through Saudi Arabia and Jordan to Israel had been completed successfully, and that the first ten trucks of the initiative had completed the route.

The initiative is managed through the Israeli cargo transport application Trucknet. The app matches truck owners with customers who need transport. In early December, Trucknet announced the signing of a cooperation agreement with the UAE-based Puretrans FZCO and the Dubai-based DP WORLD to transport cargo from the Gulf to the port of Haifa and back.

Freight transit over land quicker than over sea

The project received the approval of the Defense Ministry and the government. The route from Dubai to Haifa is 2,550 km. and takes four days, while the route from Bahrain to Haifa is 1,700 km and takes two days and seven hours.

The trip costs about $1.2 per kilometer, which is a little more expensive than sea freight usually is, but cheaper than freight prices at the moment, according to Walla. Delivery over land is also faster, meaning this route may significantly shorten the time for companies in Dubai and India to transport products to Europe through Israel, taking about 10 days less than the trip through the Suez Canal.

Sources in Jordan's Transportation Ministry told the Jordan News Agency on Saturday that "there is no truth at all" to the reports of cargo being transported through Jordan.

The Jordanian sources claimed that the reports were "intended to confuse the firm Jordanian position regarding what is happening in the Gaza Strip in terms of the brutal Israeli aggression."