Tel Aviv- Israel will build a $27 billion rail expansion that will connect its outlying areas to metropolitan Tel Aviv, with the hope of extending the line all the way to Saudi Arabia in the future, Reuters reported on 31 July.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made the announcement following a trip by US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan to Saudi Arabia last week to promote a normalization agreement between Tel Aviv and Riyadh based on the framework of the Abraham Accords.
During his weekly cabinet meeting, Netanyahu promoted the “One Israel Project,” which seeks to allow Israelis to reach government and business centers from anywhere in the country in under two hours. The new rail line is planned to link the northern city of Kiryat Shmona to the Red Sea resort of Eilat in the far south.
“I would like to add that in the future, we will also be able to transport cargo by rail from Eilat to our Mediterranean, and will also be able to link Israel by train to Saudi Arabia and the Arabian peninsula,” Netanyahu said.
Earlier this month, Yedioth Ahronoth reported that Washington was promoting a plan to build a railway connection from the Gulf to Israel and from there to Europe.
The Hebrew paper also reported that plans were underway to connect the Gulf countries to Israeli via road in an effort to increase trade and reduce shipping costs by truck.
The “land bridge” would stretch between Israel and the UAE, passing through Saudi Arabia and Jordan before reaching Israeli ports on the Mediterranean.
A Foreign Ministry document obtained by Yedioth Ahronoth stated that, “The Abraham Accords have changed the political reality in our region and opened up new transportation routes. A regional land connectivity project between the Gulf states and Israel will be a game-changer that will upgrade global trade in the Middle East, improve Israel’s position as a hub for transporting goods from the Far East to the Western world and highlight the role of the United States in the region.”
Saudi Arabia has so far resisted joining the Abraham Accords, despite intense lobbying from the US, citing Israel’s refusal to allow the establishment of a Palestinian state. The UAE, Morocco, Bahrain, and Sudan signed the accords, an initiative launched by the Trump administration in 2020, to normalize relations with Israel in recent years.
However, Yedioth Ahronoth claimed that there is a good chance to advance the plan for the land bridge relatively quickly, “even before Israel and Saudi Arabia establish formal ties, because all parties will benefit from shorter transit times and shipping costs, bridging the gap between the Far East and Europe.”
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