S’porean couple in Israel leave Jerusalem for Jordan before flying to KL to come home safely
Standing just metres from the King Hussein Bridge that links the West Bank to Jordan, Mr Lim Keng Yeow and his wife waited for the checkpoint to open so they could get out of Israel on Thursday.
Their destination: Jordanian capital Amman. From there, Mr Lim and Madam Karen Phuah will take a flight to Kuala Lumpur, and hope to reach Singapore safely.
The couple, together with six others, got to the Israeli-Jordan border early in the morning and waited by the side of the road for a taxi to take them through the security checkpoint.
Speaking to The Straits Times, Mr Lim said the group had been waiting 45 minutes for the checkpoint counters to open at 8am. The journey between the Israeli and Jordanian checkpoints was likely to take about 20 minutes, he added.
“We heard that others had crossed successfully, although for some, the wait at the border was nine hours,” he said.
Mr Lim, 57, and Madam Phuah, 56, started their journey at 6am from the college in Mount Zion, Jerusalem, where Mr Lim studies, and took less than an hour to reach the Israeli border checkpoint.
“The journey has been quite smooth so far,” said Mr Lim. He added that the group had anticipated the wait at the border and wanted to be early to ensure they were ahead of the queue.
“We have felt very safe so far,” he said.
Mr Lim and his wife have been in Israel since August 2023 to pursue a post-graduate degree course called the Hebraic Roots of Christianity at Jerusalem University College.
The college had arranged for its students to leave Israel together by land via Jordan, before flying off from Amman.
Mr Lim said he was unsure how long he would have to wait to cross the border. When he asked where the toilet was, he was directed to the area “behind the bush”.
“The bushes are quite low,” Mr Lim said.
At about 11am (Singapore time), Mr Lim and his wife cleared immigration on the Israeli side and were ready to head into Jordan immigration by bus.
Passport checks were fast, he said, but it took some time to travel across the border.
Last Saturday, the Islamist militant group Hamas launched a surprise attack on Israel from the Gaza Strip in which at least 1,200 people have been killed.
In Gaza, officials reported that more than 1,100 people have been killed in retaliatory air and artillery strikes by Israel.
Mr Lim and his wife were in their home in Arnona, Jerusalem, about 88km away from the conflict zone on Saturday when they heard the wail of an air raid siren - one of several sirens they heard between 8am and 12pm that day.
On Monday afternoon, they were exploring the option of flying home soon, although there was uncertainty about flights to Singapore continuing amid the conflict.
On Tuesday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Singapore issued a travel advisory that said Singaporeans in Israel should leave the country as soon as possible through available commercial options.
Those who choose to remain, the advisory added, are urged to stay vigilant and monitor local developments closely, and avoid areas such as the Old City and East Jerusalem where large crowds gather. The area is home to the Temple Mount, which houses Al-Aqsa Mosque, the advisory said.
Mr Lim and his wife have booked a flight to Kuala Lumpur and plan to fly out of Amman on Friday.
He said: “We haven’t made further plans beyond that at the moment and may stay there a bit to chill, eat street food, and slowly process through what’s happened.”
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