Israeli commuters had some good news today: The tunnels for the Tel-Aviv Jerusalem Rail Line were finally completed. While it will be another 2 years before they are running, once they are the travel time will go from 1.5 hours by train or 1 hour by bus down to a half an hour. That’s great news for everyone because unlike in an apartheid country where travel on public transportation was restricted with whites only and coloreds only, in Israel, everyone – Jews and Arabs, Haredi and secular, Ashkenazi and Mizrahi – will use the same trains. (You can read more about the new line here)
However, seeing the images of the new tunnels Israel just built drove another point home to us. Israel is investing 7 billion shekels ($1.79 billion) in this new rail project that will serve the entire country. It has been working on it for over a decade and at the end of next year (if all goes according to plan) the project will be complete.
On the other hand, Hamas has been investing an incredible amount of time, money and lives in building terror tunnels into Israel in preparation for their next offensive. Each tunnel costs an estimated $3 million and uses 350 trucks worth of building material. These tunnels benefit no one and do nothing to better the lives of a single Gazan. The same materials could be used to build 86 homes, 7 mosques, 6 schools, or 17 medical clinics. Instead they are used as part of Hamas’s infrastructure of death.
While Israel is investing in the bettering the lives of its citizens, Hamas is investing in death and destruction. But please tell me again how Israel wants war and the Palestinians want peace.
