Underground highway system would connect Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria, protect motorists from Palestinian terror attacks.
By World Israel News Staff
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu tested the waters around possible funding for a series of high-speed underground tunnels and highways in Judea and Samaria during a meeting with French investors in Paris on Friday, Zman Israel reported.
According to the Zman Israel report, Netanyahu was inspired by the underground tunnels built in Las Vegas by billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk and his engineering firm, the Boring Company.
Netanyahu asked the room of investors – whose total net worth is estimated at some $150 billion – whether they’d be interested in financing the tunnels and highways, which would travel times between Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria drastically reduced, as well as protect Jewish motorists from Palestinian terror attacks.
Several of the investors expressed interest in the project, Zman Israel reported, although one said he was concerned about bureaucratic red tape, specifically from Israel’s Land Authority.
“How long does it take you to solve problems with them?” Netanyahu asked the investor.
“A whole year,” the French financier responded.
“You are doing well, it takes me longer,” Netanyahu said. The Zman Israel report did not indicate that the premier promised to provide a solution to streamline the permits required for such a project.
An extensive system of new highways and tunnels would also provide Palestinians with territorial continuity, by linking PA-controlled municipalities via underground routes.
Rock throwing attacks are common in Judea and Samaria. Each year, there are hundreds of incidents in which Palestinians hurl projectiles at passing Jewish motorists. Motorists may be injured by the rocks themselves, or lose control of their vehicles and crash.
In September 2022, an Israeli parole board denied early release to a Palestinian man who had thrown rocks at a vehicle carrying a Adva Biton and her two-year-old daughter, Adele.
The toddler was seriously wounded in the attack and died two years later. The perpetrator was sentenced to 15 years in prison.