Train station in Jerusalem to be named for Trump
JERUSALEM: Israel’s transportation minister is pushing ahead with a plan to extend Jerusalem’s soonto-open high speed rail line to the Western Wall, where he wants to name a future station after US President Donald Trump.
Yisrael Katz’s plan, currently in the initial planning stage, involves constructing two underground stations and excavating over 3 km of tunnel beneath downtown Jerusalem and under the politically and historically sensitive Old City. The Western Wall is the holiest site where Jews can pray.
Transportation ministry spokesman Avner Ovadia said Wednesday the project is estimated to cost more than $700 million and, if approved, would take four years to complete.
Katz’s office said in a statement that the minister advanced the plan in a recent meeting with Israel Railways executives, and has fast-tracked it in the planning committees.
Katz said a high speed rail station would allow visitors to reach “the beating heart of the Jewish people -- the Western Wall and the Temple Mount.” He proposed naming the future station after Trump “for his brave and historic decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital” earlier this month.
Trump’s announcement has enraged the Palestinians and much of the Muslim world. The United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution last week rejecting the US’s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, with several traditional American allies voting in favour of the motion.
The Western Wall train proposal will likely face opposition from the international community, which doesn’t recognise Israeli sovereignty over east Jerusalem and the Old City.