New voices are heard from Palestinian quarters regarding the Jerusalem Light Rail project (JLRP). In recent months, Arab entrepreneurs have quietly suggested extending the JLRP to the West Bank city of Ramallah. The logic behind this stand is that transportation projects all over the world become cross-border. These Arab businesspersons believe will happen also in the Palestinian territory. They think that this transportation project will eventually break the Palestinians' isolation or as they say "tear down the West Bank Wall."
The JLRP consists of initially one and in a later phase possibly multiple light rail lines to provide fast and efficient public transportation to and in Jerusalem. Once completed, the JLRP will allow passengers from the suburbs to reach the central of the jammed city with 12 minutes.
The first line will run from Neve Yaakov and Pisgat Ze'ev in the northeast, then through Arab villages including Shoafat and Beit Hanina and south along Road 60 until Jaffa Street, from where it will follow Jaffa Street in a western direction to the Jerusalem Central Bus Station. Then it will continue to the southwest, crossing the Chords Bridge to the Beit HaKerem neighborhood.
Despite some criticism, the construction of the JLRP has already brought boom to the Arab population along its route. For instance, according to local sources in Shoafat and Beit Hanina, the demand for commercial spaces along the expected route of the rail has been growing rapidly. The rent prices of these spaces have increased some ten folds in recent years and owners are already eager to see the JLRP operational.
Many in the West Bank say, in closed meetings, that the Ramallah extension is a good opportunity to test the new Israeli government' seriousness in upgrading the standard of living of the local population. The newly elected Israeli Premier Benjamin Netanyahu has called for "economic peace" with the Palestinians, which will aim to improve the Palestinians' rickety economy ahead of future peace talks. Last week, the Israeli prime ministry announced that Netanyahu would chair a high-level committee that will work on developing the Palestinian economy and improving the standards of living in the occupied West Bank.
Thus, according to Palestinian officials, the Ramallah project can emerge as a first "real" joint venture with the Israelis. In the past, all the Israeli proposals for economic cooperation were based on the Jewish state's bid to keep its hegemony and to control Arab resources. "Here we speak about a project which will strengthen and benefit the Palestinians. If the new Israeli government really wants to take care of our economic condition, let it give the foreign partner the go ahead to do this," a Fatah official, who preferred not to disclose his name, has said.
Away from politics, the Palestinians on the ground are looking forward for the completion of the project. On his part, Eng. Muhanad Taweel, who owns an engineering office in the eastern Jerusalem area, has publicly voiced support for the JLRP. "Many of my clients from the various Arab suburbs of Jerusalem can not reach my office due to the lack of adequate public transportation facilities," he complains. According to him, the current public transportation system in Jerusalem doesn't serve the Arab suburbs of the city. "My clients need an appropriate, convenient, fast and on time public transport facility such as the (JLRP)," Taweel stressed.
Eng. Taweel believes in the economic benefits of the project for the Arab population in Jerusalem. "The JLRP construction project can employ many Palestinian workers from the Eastern part of the city, and thus, economically supports many local Palestinian families," he noted
It should be noted that the benefits for the Palestinians by the project led the Jewish settlers, who reside in West Bank settlements around Jerusalem, to become the main opponents to JLRP project. They refuse to accept that the tramway will serve not only Jews but also end the isolation of the Palestinians in the Jerusalem area. The settlers fear such development will block their attempt to juadize Jerusalem. A poll held among Jewish settlers of Pisgat Zeev and Neve Yaakov has found that 74% and 83.5% respectively opposed to stops in the Arab areas of Shoafat and Beit Hanina. Similarly, the settlers indicated in the poll they won't use the train frequently if it stops in the Arab villages.
