The Directorate of Planning and Building in Jerusalem announced that it had begun planning for the construction of a subway in the occupied city, with the aim of linking it to several Israeli cities and towns.
The project received the blessing of the Minister of Transportation and the Minister of Finance.
This new project comes within an Israeli vision to completely separate Jerusalem from its Palestinian surroundings, in return for linking it to the settlements of the ring around it, in addition to the major cities in Israel, the most important of which are Tel Aviv and the Gush Dan region.
Israel had finally completed the construction of a new railway linking Jerusalem with Tel Aviv, and it had also completed the first phase of establishing an electric train that would link the western parts of Jerusalem and the eastern part occupied since 1967.
Financial allocations
The British Middle East Eye website reported in February 2022 that the Jerusalem municipality had allocated $6.8 million to develop the light rail linking the Ramot settlement, another settlement near the city of Bethlehem in the southern occupied West Bank.
The Jerusalem Municipality has also allocated approximately $29.1 million to develop the light rail within the urban areas of Jerusalem, and the occupation authorities will extend the railway line to connect the residences of the Hebrew University and the buildings near the Palestinian village of Al-Isawiya in the Givat Ram area in West Jerusalem.
Palestinian officials have warned in the past years that the aim of the subway plan in occupied Jerusalem is to transport the largest number of Jewish settlers from West Jerusalem to the vicinity of the Holy Mosque.