Jordan- 'No plans to issue temporary passports for entry to Israel' 

(MENAFN - Jordan Times) An official denied reports that the government plans to issue temporary passports for Iraqis and other Arabs to facilitate their entry into Israel.

"We do not have any plans to issue temporary passports for anyone at this stage. Media reports claiming we have plans to do so are wrong," Marwan Qteishat, director general of the Civil Status and Passports Department, told The Jordan Times Tuesday.

Some media outlets reported earlier this week that Jordan had plans to start issuing temporary passports for Iraqis and other Arab nationals to facilitate their entry into Israel to conduct business. The news reports said the objective was to make it easier for Arab and Israeli investors to conduct joint investments.

The 1969 Passports Law allows the department to issue temporary passports for one year only and once per person under certain "humanitarian conditions", he said over the phone yesterday.

"Over the past five years, we have issued one temporary passport that was valid for one year. We are allowed by law to issue temporary passports in very specific humanitarian cases after thorough study of the case," Qteishat noted.

"Countries around the world issue temporary passports to other nationals for humanitarian purposes. In Jordan, we can do that but the cases are very limited," he said.