MembersANALYSIS: Israel’s new railway and normalisation with Saudi Arabia

What does the construction of a new railway line in Israel have to do with normalization of relations between Saudi Arabia and the Jewish state?

By Yochanan Visser | | Topics: Saudi Arabia, Abraham Accords
Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud
Illustration. Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud. Photo: EPA-EFE/HAYOUNG JEON

On Sunday, July 30, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu unveiled a grandiose infrastructure plan that includes, among other things, a high-speed rail link from the northern city of Kiryat Shemona to Eilat in Israel’s far south.

Netanyahu dubbed the plan “One Israel,” drawing derision from critics because Israel is currently deeply divided and, some say, has come close to civil war.

The Israeli prime minister further commented on extending the high-speed line to Saudi Arabia in the future after the Kiryat Shemona–Eilat link is established.

In itself, this was not a new idea because Israel Katz, in his previous capacity as Minister of Transport, presented this plan during a regional conference in Oman back in 2018.

The cost of the entire infrastructure project is estimated at 104 billion NIS (roughly $29 billion), and a governmental committee has been formed to arrange the financing of the plan separate from the two-year budget of the...

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