Iraqi goods travel to Turkey via Israel
Following secret talks due to civil war in Syria, Jordan River Crossing and Haifa Port used to transport merchandise between Iraq, Jordan, Turkey and other countries
Gad Lior
Published: 04.05.13, 13:34 / Israel Business
Dozens of trucks carrying goods from Iraq, Jordan and Turkey have been travelling on Israel’s roads on a daily basis recently, following secret talks between Israeli and Turkish officials and senior officials from neighboring Arab countries.
Yedioth Ahronoth has learned that following the intensification of battles in Syria and the near collapse of the country’s regime, and after merchandise transported by convoys from Turkey to Iraq and Jordan, and vice versa, was robbed – the Jordan River Crossing (near Beit She’an) and the Haifa and Ashdod Ports have become an alternative for the transport of goods.
Every day, trucks arrive from Jordan and Iraq at the Jordan River Crossing, where the goods they are carrying are loaded onto Israeli trucks, which usually take them to the Haifa Port. From the port they are transported by sea to Turkey and other countries, where trucks from Iraq and Jordan used to travel via Syria.
First-of-its-kind cooperation
A similar way is made by goods imported from Turkey and neighboring countries to Jordan and Iraq, which arrive at the port on ships. The vessels unload their cargo there, and the merchandise is taken by trucks to the Jordan River Crossing on its way to Jordan and Iraq.
According to estimates, the goods transported through Israel are worth tens of millions of dollars a month.
“Israel’s roads have turned into a transport pipe for exports and imports of goods and commodities from and to Jordan and Iraq,” confirmed a source at the Tax Authority, which is in charge of transporting the goods and inspecting them on the land border.
“These goods and products are not usually flown, but transferred in containers through trucks by land – and now by sea as well,” the source added.
Yedioth Ahronoth has learned that the transport operation is part of a first-its-kind cooperation between the customs authorities and transportation officials in Jordan Iraq and Turkey, and Tax Authority and other government officials in Israel.
The goods and deliveries undergo a strict security check in order to prevent the option of taking advantage of the Israeli gesture, which does not involve a very high profit for Israel, in order to carry out terror attacks or transfer weapons.
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