Israel may build Palestinian rail link

Israel may build a rail link between Gaza and the West Bank after withdrawing from the Gaza Strip this summer, officials said today.

Plans endorsed by Israeli vice premier Shimon Peres would have trains running shortly after the withdrawal to improve Palestinian quality of life, said aide Yoram Dori.

“The vice premier is really trying to push this through because we have to allow people to live,” Mr Dori said. “The better life is there, the less motivation they will have to carry out terrorist attacks.”

A 13-mile railway from Gaza to the Israeli port of Ashdod, already under construction but on hold since the outbreak of fighting, may also be revived to provide a lifeline for the isolated coastal strip.

Some 1.3 million Palestinians live in Gaza, which is plagued by poverty and high unemployment.

Tracks have been laid along most of the route, from Ashdod to the Erez crossing into Gaza.