According to the newspaper, Regev held talks in the Emirates that addressed a project to establish a railway line linking Abu Dhabi with the occupied Palestinian city of Haifa, noting that the “Peace Railway” project was previously suspended.
The newspaper pointed out that “what distinguished the Israeli minister’s recent visit from previous ones was that it was secret,” explaining that Regev met with officials from “Etihad Rail” of the UAE, where they discussed reviving the “Peace Railway” project.
The project aims to transport goods imported from India via a high-speed train passing through the Emirates, Saudi Arabia, and Jordan to the port of Haifa, and then by sea to Europe and the United States, according to the report.
“Yedioth” explained that the project was halted two years ago due to the Israeli war on Gaza and other reasons, but it returned to the forefront coinciding with the visit of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to Washington on November 18.
The newspaper stated that the UAE has made progress in its talks on the project with India, Saudi Arabia, and Jordan over the past two years, while part of the railway line ends in the Dead Sea area of the occupied West Bank, and Tel Aviv seeks to move it north, while the UAE prefers to extend it south.
During Regev’s meeting in Abu Dhabi, it was agreed to organize meetings between senior railway officials from both sides and to establish a joint administration to supervise train traffic between the countries participating in the project. It was also agreed that this administration would study the possibility of extending the railway line across the southern Dead Sea between Jordan and Israel to avoid any political complications. There has been no immediate comment from the UAE on these developments.
It is worth noting that during the G20 summit hosted by India in 2023, the “Economic Corridor” (IMEC) project linking India to the Middle East and Europe was revealed, a multinational project that relies on railway and sea networks.
Although the project is seen as a challenge to China, as it connects India to the UAE via Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and Israel to Europe, its feasibility study has sparked widespread controversy.
In November 2018, Israeli Minister of Military Affairs Yisrael Katz, who was then the Minister of Transportation and Road Safety, proposed the “Peace Railway” project at the International Transport Conference in Muscat, which connects the Gulf countries with Israel via Jordan.
Saudi Arabia continues to refuse normalization with Israel before progress is made towards a two-state solution, as Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman stated during a press conference with US President Donald Trump on November 18: “We want to join the Abraham Accords within a path that guarantees a two-state solution and peace between Palestine and Israel.”
