Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu predicted Tuesday that someday the Haifa-Beit She’an railway line would be “a peace train.”
Speaking at the dedication of the new line at the railway station in Afula, Netanyahu said that he’s looked at the Jordan bridges and the Yarmouk bridges in his travels on the job.
He said it was a good day, also because “Today, we blocked an attempt by the Palestinians to join INTERPOL as a member. It was a difficult effort, but it produced results. It reflects what I have been telling you is happening, which is a change in Israel’s international standing and an expansion of our ties with different countries,” he said.
Netanyahu warned, however, that there would be “other attempts now, especially at the Security Council, and I hope we can block them.” Nevertheless, he said Israel is “bursting onto the global scene” and he maintained the phenomenon would ultimately be reflected in all United Nations and international bodies.
“So we have a past, we have a vibrant present and we will also have a future,” he said.
“I believe some day this train will be a peace train,” he said. “I know that is not what they’re saying around us today. But we have a peace agreement with the Kingdom of Jordan, and these goods, which already pass from the port of Haifa to Beit She’an, can easily reach the Jordan bridges, be connected to transportation arteries, including trains, and create a new future.
“It will not happen in a day or two,” he continued, “ but it could take a year, two years, or a little longer. I believe it,” Netanyahu said. “I believe it can give us hope, it can give us the fruits of peace, not only for us, but for our neighbors as well.”