Israeli authorities have denied entry to the West Bank to more than half of the participants in an exhibition for Jordanian industries, a Jordanian official said on Wednesday.

Deputy Chairman of Amman Chamber of Commerce Adnan Ghaith said that 120 Jordanians who have registered to participate in the trade fair that opened on Tuesday at the Convention Palace in Bethlehem were denied entry by Israel to the occupied West Bank

Highlighting the glaring absence of attendees, Ghaith added that only 80 out of 200 Jordanian participants were allowed entry to participate in the 4th Jordanian Industries and Products Exhibition.

He slammed Israeli restrictions on guests’ entry to the occupied Palestinian territories as part of Israeli policies aimed at the disruption of such exhibitions aimed to promote Palestinian-Jordanian trade cooperation and exchange.

“Despite Israeli authorities’ efforts to impede the trade fair, our message is clear: We are determined to organize the exhibition in Palestine no matter what difficulties it faces,” said Ghaith, who is also chairman of the Jordanian committee that organizes industrial trade fairs.

This year’s edition of the three-day fair is designed to increase the annual share of Jordanian industries in the Palestinian market to $500 million.