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Israel Builds Railway to Boost Commerce with Arab Neighbors
(Wall Street Journal) Orr Hirschauge and Rory Jones - Israel is poised to open in October a new 40-mile rail line between the port city of Haifa and a terminal 5 miles short of the Jordanian border, as trade with the country's Arab neighbors flourishes along the route. Trade through Israel has increased in recent years as shipping companies have avoided Syria, where war has been raging since 2011. Cargo handled at the Sheikh Hussein border crossing between Israel and Jordan increased 65% between 2010 and 2015, with the number of cargo and container trucks using this route nearly quadrupling. Boats are coming into Haifa bearing containers and trucks that then travel by road to Jordan and on to Saudi Arabia, Iraq and the Gulf, carrying Spanish oranges, Jordanian textiles and car parts from Europe.