Roi Tov: From Iraq to Turkey via Israel!

Geography beats politics, well, almost always. One could even say that money beats politics, but these two are too linked for this statement to make much sense. Since the opening statement is almost always true, let's begin with an odd geographical feature named the Beit Shean Valley. The Jordan River runs from west to east, from the Mediterranean Sea to the Jordan Valley. The area where these valleys meet, is misleadingly called Beit Shean Valley. Since the Jezreel Valley is higher than the Jordan one, they meet in a series of dramatic cliffs and several steps. The widest step forms the bulk of the Beit Shean Valley, the area next to the river, is known as Zor. This is the site of what nowadays is called the Jordan River Border Crossing, and in the past the Sheikh Hussein Bridge. It is the main access point between Jordan and Israel. Few people alive remember the Sheikh Hussein Bridge. It was blown up by the Palmah First Battalion of the Haganah on June 16, 1946. This event was part of a massive terror operation known as The Night of the Bridges, during which nine bridges were destroyed. In two bridges the operation failed. Three others were spared by the political level behind the operation. It is one of the few actions committed by the Jewish Resistance Movement, an ad hoc alliance between the Hagana, Etzel and Lehi. This event, combined with the attack on the King David Hotel, led to the dismantlement of the JRM. After that, the road between Beit Shean and Irbid, a principal city and crossroads in Jordan, was cut until 1994, when the Peace Agreement between Jordan and Israel, led to the construction of a new bridge. A fact telling a lot about Israel, is that its side of the facility is administered by the Israel Airport Authority. The closest thing to an airplane passing through the area, are massive amounts of birds, during their seasonal migrations between Africa and Europe. Simply, this is the most proficient organization dealing with high security cross points. Judah Maccabee is said to have used the bridge in the 2nd Century BC. In 63BC, Roman Emperor Pompey, used this bridge to reach Beit Shean. In 638 AD, the Muslims used it to conquer the Holy Land. Simply, the cross offers a unique access to the coastal plains. Nowadays, it provides the Kingdom of Jordan with a valuable access to the Mediterranean Sea. Despite their unwillingness to admit that, Israel and Jordan are extremely close.