Israel to Build Rail Expansion that Could Link to Saudi Arabia

VIVA – Israel reportedly to build rail expansion that connects outlying towns to Tel Aviv, and could link with Saudi Arabia, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a speech.

Netanyahu said in his speech that the project, called the One Israel Project, will be designed to reduce the time it takes to reach the country's government and business centers to less than two hours.

"I would like to add that in the future we will also be able to transport cargo by rail from Eilat to the Mediterranean, and will also be able to connect Israel by rail to Saudi Arabia and the Arabian peninsula," he said in a televised speech on Monday. 

Eilat is the southernmost city in the country and is a busy port at the northern point of the Red Sea. The high-speed north-south rail line will be ready within the next 10 years, according to Israel's finance ministry.

Israel approved a similar transportation initiative in 2010, but little progress was made.

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VIVA Militer; Perdana Menteri Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu

Photo :

• Washington Post

The announcement of the rail project, which is expected to cost 100 billion shekels (US$27 billion), was made just days after United States officials visited Saudi Arabia to advance talks to normalize relations between Israel and Riyadh.

Earlier on Sunday, a senior Israeli lawmaker said that normalization was unlikely shortly. "I think it's too early to talk about an agreement being worked out," Yuli Edelstein, head of the Israeli parliament's foreign affairs and defense committee, told Israel Army Radio.

In 2020, Israel established diplomatic relations with the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Morocco, and Sudan as part of the so-called Abrahamic Covenant brokered by United States President Donald Trump.

Palestinians denounced the agreement, which they said violated the Arab League's longstanding position that relations with Israel should only be normalized in exchange for a Palestinian state. 

Riyadh has said it will not normaliza relations until Palestine is granted statehood. 

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Earlier on Sunday, a senior Israeli lawmaker said that normalization was unlikely shortly. "I think it's too early to talk about an agreement being worked out," Yuli Edelstein, head of the Israeli parliament's foreign affairs and defense committee, told Israel Army Radio.