Israeli Transportation Minister Meir Sheetrit will present his plans today for a rail link between Haifa and Irbid, Jordan, including a branch line to Jenin.
I believe this is part of Israel’s “Valley Train” which seeks to connect the port of Haifa to Beit She’an in the Jordan Valley. This is currently being implemented however apparently “the dream” is then to connect it to Irbid and then to Baghdad.
Such a railway would mean massive economic benefits for Israel to transport its goods into Jordan and Iraq with access to the Persian gulf and hence Asia. It is roughly 12km from Beit She’an to Jordan over the Hussein bridge.
None of the Jordanian media has reported this. (if someone finds something out there hook me up please)
So much for boycotts huh?
The Arab League implemented the first boycotts in 1945 and has since all but dissapeared. Egypt was the first to go in 1980 followed by Palestine and Jordan in 1995. The GCC states lifted the secondary boycotts (companies that do business with Israel) in 1994. More or less all Arab nations (except Syria) have some economic ties with Israel or are in the process of doing so. Bahrain was the most recent addition to dropping the boycotts last September and Kuwait, Oman and Dubai are expected to follow soon.
Israeli Exports to Arab countries has increased dramatically in the past 2 years. In 2004: exports to Jordan rose 55%, to Egypt 11%, to Palestine 9%, Morocco 33%, Persian Gulf states 110%
Also To Read: Railway being planned between Riyadh and Jordan
Hi Nas,
Here is the URL you are asking for: http://www.alghad.jo/index.php?news=62172
Why should this joint project with Israel be any more objectionable than any of the others?
K
lol
Its funny cause they denied this piece of news on the Jordanian radio. Anyhow, what they fail to know is that we have other radios and satellites.
Anyhow hope its not true. It just makes is so clear then that Jordan has ties with Israel, like a visual evidence. the thing that we tried so hard to deny…
And please dont tell me about the wellfare of Jordan, please…A country so redhanded with the blood of 2893633237 human beings, how can one connect with such people?
Big K, not “more”
thanks for the article
this news explains everything …
This is meant to be good for QIZ industries, who will save alot of transportation costs by transporting their 8 percent of israeli input by train instead of trucks. There is also talks, as I understood, about a pipeline between Haifa and Iraq (it was there along time ago). Maybe this pipeline would be connected to another one that goes along the silk road to afghanistan and such. Syria bypassed, still Iran stands in the middle, so the US must do something about it, if the whole oil future is meant to survive.
Rami, I believe under the FTA the 8% was abolished.
Any country who dare oppose this baby’s growth will be put on axis of evil and will be taught a lesson to behave (sanctions, war, massacre).
But such collaboration is also good in other ways:
– Job searching Gulf citizens can have one more country to look for work.
– Tourism both ways will increase
– Why go to Americas for study, when it can be done in the neighboring country 🙂
– And Finally, we all can let go the baggage of this Palestine Issue, and forget for ever there was such land.
Unfortunately, we can only see this happening.
This is good for Jordan as it will make it easier for it to transport their goods via Haifa, expecially the ones they export via the QIZ through Haifa today.
As for the Arab boycott… Whoever wants to be in the WTO can’t boycott any other members in the WTO. You don’t like that, you don’t have to join.
After 10 years we don’t see any thing on the ground, where is it??.
I think this will be connected to the huge project undergoing in the GCC states to make the new Middle East project a reality.
The main question remains, we don’t see any thing going on in Jordan, we know that they denied the project as a regional project, but they did not start their National Railway Project yet in spite of direct instructions from the king which I heard my self three years ago when HM headed cabinet meeting in which he told them to give this project the priority on other things in their agenda.
Who is right, who is wrong?.