For years there have been plans to expand the Coastal Highway (Route 2), one of Israel’s most important highways, Route 2, to ease traffic congestion and add bus lanes and carpool in each direction. The plan for the section between Zichron Ya’akov and Caesarea was approved in 2016 and was even allocated an initial budget of NIS 230 million out of a total of NIS 1.7 billion needed. Now, just when final signing was needed to launch the project, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich objected to funding, and the project was dropped from the five-year road construction plan. The road was to be diverted east on a new road near Jisr az-Zarqa, on land owned by Moshav Beit Hanania, while a new neighborhood for the Arab village would be built on the current route of the highway.
The development of the moshav depends on the diversion of the highway
The plan, approved in 2016, also includes the development of Beit Hanania, which is bordered by the Nahal Hataninim coastline and nature reserve. The moshav is in the second poorest socio-economic decile, according to the Central Bureau of Statistics – 26% of its residents are unemployed and the average monthly wage is just NIS 5,767. Over the years, planning institutions have made development plans for the moshav dependent on the diversion of Route 2 to the east.
Objections to the Route 2 diversion project were reviewed by an external auditor. Residents of Beit Hanina claimed that the new road would harm their agricultural lands and that the problem of Jisr al-Zarqa’s expected increase could be solved within its current borders. It is also claimed that, in any case, the plan would require massive investments in infrastructure and housing, which would render it useless.
In addition, residents of the moshav argued that the affected areas amounted to approximately 400 dunams (100 acres), and that the proximity of the houses to the road would create noise and pollution hazards, and that the construction of a new urban residential area in Jisr, on the land freed from the existing Route 2, would harm “the rural quality of life and peace of Beit Hanania. Already today, their quality of life is being undermined due to ‘poor management and way of life in the surrounding village (Jisr).’ Finally, it has been argued that “settlement growth must be delineated and limited, especially at the cost of harming others. The people of Beit Hanania are the second generation of Holocaust survivors who were expelled from their homes”.
Despite numerous claims, the auditor decided that the total expropriation would amount to about 300 dunams (75 acres) out of the 2,100 dunams (525 acres) of land in the moshav. Homes in the moshav would be at least half a mile from the new road, so there would be no concern for damage to acoustics or air quality. The listener also pointed out that the village of Jisr al-Zarqa is no different from other villages and that its expansion should be allowed even if it comes at the expense of a neighboring village.
Smotrich changed the decision of the previous government
The Bennett-Lapid government made the decision to socio-economically strengthen Jisr al-Zarqa and part of that was to go ahead with the plan to divert Route 2 to the east. The coastal road project was given high priority and funds were allocated under the five-year road construction plan.
However, during recent budget talks between government ministries, in addition to pressure from Likud MKs, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich insisted that there be no budget for the expansion of the government. highway and its deviation, and therefore it has not entered the basket of projects to be implemented over the next five years. Smotrich’s involvement is also reflected in the high rate of infrastructure development budgets in Judea and Samaria, all part of the same strategic plan.
Nevertheless, former transport minister Merav Michaeli allocated NIS 230 million to promote the project by preparing the ground and starting works for the expropriation that Beit Hanania wanted to avoid. But the whole project will cost NIS 1.7 billion and it is not yet clear whether it will ever be implemented.
A statement on behalf of the Minister of Finance said: “The budget agreement between the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Transport reflects the order of priorities, importance and urgency of infrastructure projects in Israel, and c this is how it will be in the future. the future too.”
Published by Globes, Israel business news – en.globes.co.il – May 11, 2023.
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