West Bank: Palestinians’ first planned city will offer modern space
Palestinians are used to uneven roads and ramshackle houses. But the first planned city, Rawabi – geared toward young, upwardly mobile Palestinians – is in the works near Ramallah.
By Daniella Cheslow | Correspondent 11.04.09
• A local, slice-of-life story from a Monitor correspondent.
RAMALLAH, WEST BANK – For most Palestinians, roughly paved asphalt, smoggy downtowns, and ramshackle expansion are a part of city life. But entrepreneur Bashar Masri thinks otherwise. On what is now just a scrubby hilltop, a new 40,000-person metropolis five miles north of Ramallah, Rawabi, Arabic for “hills,” may be the first Palestinian city built to a master plan, and it offers a tidy alternative for upwardly mobile young professionals.
As the Nablus-born nephew of Palestinian billionaire Munib Masri, Bashar is no stranger to big ideas. “Palestinians right now – young people – want to move to the city,” Mr. Masri explained as he leaned over a yellow glass desk in his Ramallah office. “The people we’re after are educated and employed. They studied in English and Arabic, they watch TV, they have traveled, and most of them have Facebook. They understand a different world than their parents.”
For them, Masri offers a revolutionary city. Qatari financing will provide the first large-scale Palestinian mortgage option for home buyers. Downtown will include apartments, offices, day care, and theaters. Neighborhoods will enjoy generous open space and greenery. Masri hopes to break ground in March.
Rami Nasrallah, an urban planner based in East Jerusalem, said Rawabi reflects changing values. “It’s moving the Palestinians from being restricted to their villages to going to modern spaces,” he says.
Ramallah Mayor Janet Michael says Rawabi offers young couples a quiet home away from the mayhem of the booming cultural capital of the West Bank. It also addresses the gaping housing shortage in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, which the World Bank put at 65,000 units last year.
The project still faces big hurdles, such as gaining Israeli permission for an access road and water allocation. But if it succeeds, Masri says, Rawabi can be a model for the country. “Having an independent Palestinian state is not just a gimmick. We want a strong and economically
viable state.”
Comments
2. T E Workman | 11.04.09
Maby with a better standard of living the will get on with life that is better than making bombs and training people to blow themselves up.
3. D_RIght_One | 11.04.09
They have to get Israel’s permission for ROW and water? Palestinian’s are like children still dependent on the tit of the mother.
4. Richard | 11.05.09
And be sure to let Muslims, Yehudi and Christians live side by side each appreciating the others’ presence.
5. Lady-Light | 11.05.09
The Arabs (who call themselves “Palestinians,” although there was never a country named ‘Palestine’ under Arab sovereignty) should have thought of the consequences (i.e., ROW, water, etc.) before nine Arab nations contributed troops to and three of which massed against Israel to attack her in 1967.
All the Arabs’ problems were caused by them and them alone: they attacked Israel right after the United Nations voted Israel in as a sovereign state, in 1948 and have been attacking Israelis, civilians–including children–ever since. They constitute a 5th column within Israel, not ever having accepted the idea of Jewish state.
Let me remind you that the state of Israel was created as a homeland for the Jewish people; the Arabs have 22 sovereign nations of their own.
They should just choose one. That way, they won’t have to ‘tolerate’ Jewish rule.
6. Suzanne Amra | 11.07.09
I appreciate Ms Cheslaw drawing attention to what the Palestinians must go through to have urban planning. However, Palestinians have beautiful villages that the Israelis covet today. Villages with family olive orchards that are dear to their way of life. Palestinians will be happy to have a modern city as well, but make no mistake about it, this would have come about much earlier had there not been an Israeli occupation of their land.
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1. mike flynn | 11.04.09
why should israel deny right of way and water? come on israel. here is where you get to show your neighbors your intentions through your actions.