The biggest piece of news that emerged from Israel this past week (July 3) is one you may have heard nothing about--but it is a game changer in terms of elevating Israel's economic/strategic position in the Middle East.
For decades, Egypt has been able to potentially isolate Israeli and strangle trade to the Israeli posts of Ashdod and Haifa by threatening to/ and or closing the Suez Canal to marine traffic.
But this is about to change. Last week, as reported in the Globes, Israel and China signed historic cooperation agreements to build the Eilat railway, linking the port of Eilat to the ports of Ashdod and Haifa.
This will enable cargo boats to dock at Eilat, bypass the Suez Canal altogether and then the cargo will travel by high speed rail to the port of Ashdod, or Haifa--this route will be far faster than the same boat having to reach the Mediterranean through the Suez canal. Once cargo reaches Ashdod or Haifa it can travel from there onwards to the European mainland.
This means that if ever the Egyptian government in the future tried to block Israeli access to the Suez Canal, e Israeli economy will not miss a beat.
more
http://www.winnipegjewishreview.com/article_detail.cfm?id=2692&sec=1&title=Bypassing_the_Suez_Canal:_Israel_to_Have_China_Construct_The_Eilat_Railway
For decades, Egypt has been able to potentially isolate Israeli and strangle trade to the Israeli posts of Ashdod and Haifa by threatening to/ and or closing the Suez Canal to marine traffic.
But this is about to change. Last week, as reported in the Globes, Israel and China signed historic cooperation agreements to build the Eilat railway, linking the port of Eilat to the ports of Ashdod and Haifa.
This will enable cargo boats to dock at Eilat, bypass the Suez Canal altogether and then the cargo will travel by high speed rail to the port of Ashdod, or Haifa--this route will be far faster than the same boat having to reach the Mediterranean through the Suez canal. Once cargo reaches Ashdod or Haifa it can travel from there onwards to the European mainland.
This means that if ever the Egyptian government in the future tried to block Israeli access to the Suez Canal, e Israeli economy will not miss a beat.
more
http://www.winnipegjewishreview.com/article_detail.cfm?id=2692&sec=1&title=Bypassing_the_Suez_Canal:_Israel_to_Have_China_Construct_The_Eilat_Railway
