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Israel Announces Railway Megaproject With UAE, As IDF And Hamas Exchange Fire

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Israel Announces Railway Megaproject With UAE, As IDF And Hamas Exchange Fire

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On March 22nd, Israel revealed a railway megaproject with the UAE.

Head of Israeli National Economic Council Avi Simhon has revealed that Israel and the UAE are planning to establish a railway project linking Abu Dhabi with Haifa.

According to the news site, Simhon told the Hebrew press that the two countries are studying several mega infrastructure projects, including this railway.

Simhon also said that this railway would travel through Jordan and Saudi Arabia, noting that there is a great opportunity for carrying out this project as most of the railway already exists except between 200 to 300 kilometres in Jordan.

Carrying out this project, Simhon said, will help Israel transport its goods to the UAE in one or two days instead of shipping through the Suez Canal which takes about 12 days.

This is a continuation of the August 13th, 2020 peace deal between Israel and the UAE, brokered by US President Donald Trump

Abu Dhabi said the deal was an effort to stave off Tel Aviv’s planned annexation of the occupied West Bank, however, opponents believe normalisation efforts have been in the offing for many years as Israeli officials have made official visits to the UAE and attended conferences in the country which had no diplomatic or other ties with the occupation state.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu however denied the UAE’s claims saying annexation is not off the table but has simply been delayed.

Alongside the announcement of the project, Israel Defense Forces and Hamas exchanged fire on Gaza on the evening of March 23rd.

There is a video of the Israeli response.

There is also a video of the initial Hamas launch.

The strikes targeted sites near Gaza City in the northern Gaza Strip and near Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip, according to Palestinian reports. According to the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit, the strikes targeted a site for manufacturing rockets and a military position.

“The Hamas terrorist organization bears responsibility for what happens inside and outside of the Gaza Strip, and will bear the consequences of terrorist acts against Israeli citizens,” said the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit.

After the rocket fire, Defense Minister and Alternate Prime Minister Benny Gantz stopped his campaign efforts and conducted security consultations.

“Bibi [a nickname for Netanyahu] is weak in front of Hamas,” said former defense minister Naftali Bennett. “I wish Netanyahu had fought Hamas like he fought me. Hamas is laughing at Netanyahu’s weakness. They shot a Grad rocket near Beersheba while Bibi was visiting there.

“Bibi is submissive to Hamas,” he said. “Bibi is submissive to the Bedouin gangs in the Negev. Bibi is submissive to the justice system. A strong right is only Yamina with the letter Bet [the letter on Yamina’s ballot slip].”

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