Rawabi
The West Bank has long been one of the poorest regions of the world, with high unemployment, lack of modern amenities and housing, and one of the worst standards of living.
That might change for some 40,000 Palestinians if the Palestinian development firm Massar, with money from a Qatari investment company, has its way in Rawabi. A Western-style planned settlement is being built there with parks, quality residential buildings and a commercial center.
The only remaining issues are the lack of Israeli support, in the form of the necessary permits to build the access roads, and the quite unaffordable house prices.
While supposedly “affordable mortgages” will be made available, the average Palestinian who earns about 20 dollars a day can hardly buy a house that costs $50,000. For true progress, it would make a little more sense for Qatar, or any of the super wealthy Muslim Arab states, to subsidize the housing project. A five thousand home would be within the reach for more Palestinians.
More developments like Rawabi, even with its problems, will help ameliorate the conditions in the West Bank, and move us further along the road to peace.
