Palestinian-American builder turns $1.4b dream into reality
Al Masri overcomes Israeli hurdles to develop swanky city of Rawabi in West Bank
With wide boulevards, fashionable shopping and a Roman-style amphitheatre, the newly built Palestinian city of Rawabi is the culmination of a decadeslong dream for developer Bashar Al Masri.
The Palestinian-American businessman has struggled to overcome Israeli regime hurdles, critics in his own community and political instability to turn the $1.4-billion (Dh5.12 billion) project in the occupied West Bank into reality — but now he hopes it can become a beacon in the quest for statehood.
So far only some 3,000 people live in the pristine rows of beige tower blocks that have gone up since work began from scratch in the barren hills just north of Ramallah almost a decade ago on the first ever planned city to be built by Palestinians in the occupied territory.
Construction is still rumbling on and some streets can feel eerily quiet, but eventually it is hoped 40,000 people will one day call the city home. “Rawabi, especially in the past four or five months, has become a destination for all Palestinians,” sharply dressed Masri, 56, insisted, as he sat at a cafe in the city’s new shopping mall.
“Every month, at least 100,000 Palestinians visit and come out impressed.”
Careful planning
The symmetrical housing and careful planning of Rawabi — which means hills in Arabic — has led some to say it resembles more the Israeli colonies that most Palestinians cannot visit than other towns in the occupied territory.
It boasts an extreme sports centre and 15,000-seater amphitheatre hung with giant pictures of Arab and western entertainment stars, while a cinema and winery are set to be built.
The city’s design and highend facilities have sparked criticism that it caters only for the elite and is out of place and out of reach in an impoverished region where unemployment is rampant.
But Masri insists there is demand and says the Palestinians themselves will determine if his project will succeed.
“I do not know who decides what the Palestinians want. Is it the occupation [army]? The world? We decide for ourselves what we want and not all of us want the same thing,” he insisted.
“The Palestinians deserve a better life. We should not be oppressed because we live under occupation.”
For the Palestinians flocking to catch a glimpse, the city is meant to offer another vision for life in their occupied territories.
Saed Abu Fkheida and his wife were only window shopping at the international brands like Max Mara, Juicy Couture, Armani Jeans and Lacoste in the sleek Q Center mall.
While many shops still remain to be filled some six months after the shopping complex opened, he was impressed by facilities that you can’t find elsewhere in the occupied West Bank.