Israel Plans to Construct Railway Tunnel under Jerusalem

A picture taken with a smartphone using panoramic mode on December 1, 2017 shows a view of Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives. (AFP)
A picture taken with a smartphone using panoramic mode on December 1, 2017 shows a view of Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives. (AFP)
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Israel Plans to Construct Railway Tunnel under Jerusalem

A picture taken with a smartphone using panoramic mode on December 1, 2017 shows a view of Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives. (AFP)
A picture taken with a smartphone using panoramic mode on December 1, 2017 shows a view of Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives. (AFP)

Israel has revealed a new plan to construct an underground railway tunnel in the occupied city of Jerusalem that reaches the outskirts of the Al-Aqsa Mosque.

It comes in light of the world's preoccupation with the novel coronavirus pandemic.

“Israeli authorities have prepared the plan during the emergency period they recently declared over the outbreak,” the Arab Center for Alternative Planning said in a report published Sunday.

Israel’s National Infrastructure Committee announced the plan during a March 17 meeting, the center reported.

The first phase of the project calls for the construction of an underground railway tunnel that connects west Jerusalem with the Moroccan Gate (Bab al-Magharib), reaching the outskirts of the Al-Aqsa Mosque.

While the other phase will see the construction of a railway above ground that crosses several neighborhoods in Jerusalem.

The committee has published an announcement for preparing the aforementioned project and imposed restrictions according to the Articles 77 and 78 of the Organization and Building Law.

These articles allow the freezing of issuing building permits and carrying out any work within the limits of these plans.

“The tunnel that will be built will pass under the Palestinian neighborhoods in East Jerusalem, specifically the Old City neighborhoods of Silwan and Abu Tor,” the report explained.

“As it seems, it will have many impacts on many aspects of life of these neighborhoods, which the center will study in turn.”

It noted that they are part of a series of other vague and dangerous projects that are being implemented secretly in this sensitive area.

These include the Temple tunnel, which runs under the neighborhoods of the old town and threatens its safety and stability, and the City of David project, whose various installations threaten Silwan and the Moroccan Gate area.

The center announced it will continue to follow up the Israeli projects and identify and analyze their consequences to determine the damage they might cause to Arab neighborhoods.



Yemen Protests against Iranian Meddling before Security Council

Weapons seized by the government forces in the Red Sea while bound for the Houthis, are displayed in the southern port city of Mokha, Yemen, 24 July 2025. (EPA)
Weapons seized by the government forces in the Red Sea while bound for the Houthis, are displayed in the southern port city of Mokha, Yemen, 24 July 2025. (EPA)
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Yemen Protests against Iranian Meddling before Security Council

Weapons seized by the government forces in the Red Sea while bound for the Houthis, are displayed in the southern port city of Mokha, Yemen, 24 July 2025. (EPA)
Weapons seized by the government forces in the Red Sea while bound for the Houthis, are displayed in the southern port city of Mokha, Yemen, 24 July 2025. (EPA)

Yemen protested on Thursday against Iran’s ongoing flagrant meddling in its internal affairs, as well as its destabilization of its security and stability.

Yemeni Foreign Minister Shayea al-Zandani sent a letter to Ambassador Asim Iftikhar Ahmad, current President of the United Nations Security Council and Pakistan’s permanent Ambassador to the organization, about Yemen’s recent seizure of an Iranian weapons shipment to the Houthi militants this month.

Zandani said the shipment was seized at sea and inspections by military experts found that the arms were made by Iran.

The incident was the latest in a series of seizures by Yemeni authorities, he added. It demonstrates the Iranian regime’s continued interference in Yemeni affairs and blatant violations of the UN Charter, international law and Security Council resolutions.

The shipment weighed around 750 tons and held weapons, ammunition and military gear, including Iranian-made Type 358 anti-aircraft missiles, drone components and warheads.

In his letter, Zandani said Iranian meddling has allowed the Houthi militias to continue their war against the Yemeni people and carry out attacks against cities and villages, claiming civilian lives.

The Houthis have carried out terrorist operations against civilian infrastructure and oil and energy facilities throughout the country, he added.

He also noted their attacks on international shipping in the Red Sea.

The continued smuggling of Iranian weapons to the Houthis and Tehran’s offering of military, financial and technical support demonstrates the extent of the direct Iranian interference in Yemen, he remarked.

Iran’s backing of the Houthis is part of its expansionist and destabilizing agenda in the region, he warned.

Moreover, Zandani said the weapons shipment shows that Iran is keen on prolonging the conflict in Yemen, hampering efforts to reach a comprehensive political settlement and end the suffering of the people, and keeping Yemen as a platform to threaten international shipping.