Israel Question session...

[JoeSheffer]

...i want to enter through Jordan and exit through the same border back into Jordan sneekily negating the need to have any fresh stamps anywhere, i'm assuming this is possible as i will only be spending 2 weeks in Jordan and 2 weeks in Israel. Can someone please confirm this.

Question 2...my carnet. The Israeli's do not require a carnet and i can always get rid of a stub OR two from my carnet to destroy evidence of my jordanian crossings.

I need to return through Syria and Iran so really don't want any ballz ups. The search button is bringing up a wishy washy selection of dilluted anwsers. What is the current situation and which border shall i use, is the King Hussein bridge currently a possibility?

Has anyone done this with success? For instance 'Hopelessly Lost' states that he had to enter Israel without his bike, but he also states that he used his carnet in Jordan? Surely thats not possible because he would have got stung carnet wise, unless he forgot to mention on the Israel border he had a bike and then exited using his carnet at another point!!

Argh! So confusing!

[hopelessly lost]

Joe, it IS possible to leave your bike in Jordan and enter Israel via the King Hussein crossing without creating problems with the carnet. I got the idea from two Kiwi bikers that did it a month before me, and then I did it myself.

The reason it works is that the King Hussein crossing is sort of an unofficial crossing that allows Palestinians living in Jordan to visit the West Bank. The Jordanians will NOT give you an exit stamp in your passport, and they will not even look at your carnet. The rules are different there. The only problem is that you are not allowed to ride across the bridge with your bike... which is why you must leave it in Jordan.

Using this crossing, I managed to visit Israel and avoid the stamp - but it's not a sure thing. (Disclaimer!) When you get to Israel, they will probably tell you (like they told me) that their policies have changed and they stamp every passport now. But, if they like your story (travelling overland in the region with motorcycle, etc, etc) they may choose to keep your passport clean. If they don't like your story, they may just stamp it. It's a gamble.

Of course, you need to leave Israel before your Jordanian visa expires.

Oh, and one more thing... If you enter Israel using the King Hussein Bridge, the Israelies put a sticker on the back of your passport when you send your bags through security. When you remove the sticker, there remains a patch of glue where the sticker once was. It is very important that you remove the glue patch completely before trying to enter Syria. Some gaurds look for this sticky patch to see if you've been to Israel!