Coordinates: 32°0′36″N 35°11′6″E / 32.01°N 35.185°E / 32.01; 35.185

Site of Rawabi

Rawabi (Arabic: روابي‎, meaning "The Hills")^[1][2] is the first Palestinian planned city^[3][4] in the West Bank.^[5][6] Rawabi is to be located near Ramallah and Bir Zeit. A master plan has been drawn up for the city, which will consist of 10,000 homes in six neighborhoods with a population of 40,000.^[7] Construction began in January 2010.^[8]

Location[link]

Rawabi is 9 kilometres (5.6 mi) northwest of Ramallah,^[3] 3.5 kilometres (2.2 mi) north of Birzeit, 20 kilometres (12 mi) to the north of Jerusalem, 40 km to the east of Tel Aviv, and 25 kilometres (16 mi) south of Nablus. Amman, the capital of Jordan, is 70 kilometres (43 mi) to the east of Rawabi.^[9] The construction site stretches over two ridges, 700 meters above sea level.^[10] On a clear day, it is possible to see the Mediterranean Sea, 40 kilometres (25 mi) to the west,^[9] and the Israeli coastal city of Tel Aviv from the proposed site.^[11]Rawabi's municipal boundaries will encompass 6,300,000 square meters of land.^[12] Residential and commercial development is based on a population estimate of 40,000.^[13][14] The Palestinian National Authority does not need Israeli approval for construction since the land for Rawabi falls entirely within Area 'A', which is under full Palestinian control.^[15][16]

Financing[link]

The development is linked to a $500m affordable mortgage scheme.^[17] The Washington Post reports that Rawabi "is specifically designed for upwardly mobile families of a sort that in the United States might gravitate to places such as Reston, VA. The developments are also relying on another American import, the home mortgage, including creation of a Fannie Mae-style institution for the West Bank".^[18]

Rawabi is the largest private sector project in Palestinian history.^[19][20] It was initiated at the Palestine Investment Conference, which took place in Bethlehem in 2008.^[21]

U.S. Trade and Development Agency Director Leocadia Zak meets an architect at the Rawabi site with Bashar Masri

The total cost of the development, mostly funded by the Qatari company LDR and Palestinian multimillionaire Bashar al-Masri, is estimated at US$850 million.^[22] The project is expected to generate between 8,000 and 10,000 new jobs in the construction sector.^[23] The project involves a public-private partnership between the Bayti Real Estate Investment Company, jointly owned by Qatari Diar Real Estate Investment Company (the Qatar Investment Authority's property investment fund) and Massar International,^[24] and the Palestinian National Authority.^[25] The Palestinian Authority is responsible for providing off-site infrastructure, while Bayti is tasked with the design and development of the city.^[26] The Rawabi economic growth strategy has the aim of creating 3,000 to 5,000 new jobs in "knowledge economy" industries including information technology, pharmaceuticals and health care.^[27]

On 15 March 2010, two grant agreements were signed by Bashar Masri, Managing Director of Bayti Real Estate Investment Company and chairman of Massar International, and Leocadia I. Zak, Director of the United States Trade and Development Agency (USTDA), in the presence of US Consul General Daniel Rubinstein. The USTDA grants are funding two feasibility studies. The first study to develop a master plan for Rawabi's ICT infrastructure and services was won by American management consultancy company Decision/Analysis Partners LLC of Fairfax, Virginia.^[28] The second study will examine the possibility of building a tertiary waste water treatment facility for Rawabi and surrounding communities.^[29] Previously, United States Senator John Kerry visited the construction site on 28 February along with Rubenstein and David Harden, senior advisor to the American special envoy to the Middle East, George J. Mitchell.^[30]

Master plan[link]

The Rawabi master plan was developed by AECOM, in cooperation with local experts from Birzeit and An-Najah National Universities and the technical teams of Bayti.^[25] It has been approved by the Palestinian Authority and the Palestinian Higher Planning Council.^[31]

The residential areas will surround a city centre that includes banks, shops, petrol stations, offices, eight schools, playgrounds, walking trails, two mosques, a church, a hospital, hotel, cinema and numerous other arts venues.^[32][33]

Greening project[link]

Thousands of saplings are being planted as part of a greening project which involves growing a forest around the city.^[34] The Jewish National Fund is donating 3,000 saplings to the project, the announcement of which sparked some internal Israeli and Jewish controversy.^[35] Saplings have also been donated by the Palestinian Ministry of Agriculture and by local and international organisations, corporations and individuals.^[12]

Access roads[link]

Only in Janauary 2012 an access road for trucks was approved^[36], shortly before a visit by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon.^[37] The access road for inhabitants still needs to be approved. It needs to pass through Area 'C'^[38][39] and cross Route 465, used only by inhabitants of nearby Illegal Israeli settlements Ateret and Halamish.

Land purchase and water supply[link]

Over the course of two years, the developers bought private property from 2,000 families living in Canada, Iraq, Spain, Kuwait, Britain, Portugal and Italy. The source of the city's water supply is not yet clear. One possibility is hooking up to Mekorot, the Israeli water utility, via Ateret.^[10]

Controversy[link]

In 2010, Israeli settlers held demonstrations to protest the project, although they acknowledged that they could not prevent the city's construction.^[40] Some settlers said they would establish settlements nearby.^[41]

In December 2010, the Palestinian Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions National Committee raised concerns about the involvement of Israeli contractors in the project.^[42] Ali Abunimah, co-founder of The Electronic Intifada, a website that covers the Arab-Israeli conflict from a Palestinian perspective, has argued that through the development of Rawabi, Bashar Masri "appears to be actively helping Israel deepen its hold on the Palestinian economy despite his earlier claims that he is trying to help end this relationship". Abunimah argues that Masri "appears to have made the choice to work closely with the Israeli government and businesses in order to bring even more Israeli companies into the occupied West Bank", whereas Masri himself claims that his decision to use Israeli businesses was a matter of necessity given Israeli restrictions on Palestinian economic activity.^[43] Masri has made it a requirement that all contractors working on the project "sign an agreement refusing to use Israeli products originating from the settlements or work in the settlements themselves".^[44]

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Rawabi

• Official website

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