RAWABI: PALESTINE BUILDS ITS FIRST BIG CITY … AND THERE’S BEEN VERY LITTLE SKIMPING
Despite Israeli bureaucratic stalling – and criticism from his people – developer realises his dream in a ‘giant step towards building our state’
The newly built Palestinian city of Rawabi is the culmination of a decades-long dream for developer Bashar Al Masri, with its wide boulevards, fashionable shopping and a Roman-style amphitheatre.
The Palestinian-American businessman has struggled to overcome Israeli hurdles, critics in his own community and political instability to turn the US$1.4 billion (Dh5.14bn) project in the occupied West Bank into reality.
Now he hopes it can become a beacon in the quest for statehood.
So far only about 3,000 people live in the pristine rows of beige tower blocks that form part of the first planned city to be built by Palestinians in the territory. Work on it began in the barren hills just north of Ramallah almost a decade ago.
Construction is still rumbling on and some streets feel eerily quiet, but eventually it is hoped that 40,000 people will call the city home.
“Rawabi, especially in the past four or five months, has become a destination for all Palestinians,” said Mr Al Masri, 56, as he sat at a cafe in the city’s new shopping mall. “Every month, at least 100,000 Palestinians visit and leave impressed.”
The symmetrical housing and careful planning of Rawabi, which means “hills” in Arabic, has led some to say it resembles the Israeli settlements that most Palestinians cannot visit.
It has an extreme sports centre and 15,000-seat amphitheatre hung with giant pictures of Arab and western entertainment stars, while a cinema and winery are to be built.
The city’s design and highend facilities have sparked criticism that it caters only for the elite and is out of place and out of reach in an impoverished region where unemployment is rampant.
But Mr Al Masri insists there is demand and says the Palestinians will determine if his project will succeed.
“I do not know who decides what the Palestinians want,” he said.
“Is it the occupation? The world? We decide for ourselves what we want and not all of us want the same thing.
“The Palestinians deserve a better life. We should not be oppressed because we live under occupation.”
The city is meant to offer another vision for life in the troubled territories.
Saed Abu Fkheida and his wife were window shopping at the international brands such as Max Mara, Juicy Couture, Armani Jeans and Lacoste in the sleek Q Centre mall.
While many shops are still to be filled about six months after the mall opened, Mr Abu Fkheida was impressed by facilities that you cannot find elsewhere in the West Bank.
“Everything is available here in one place,” he said. “There are clothes, toys … in Ramallah, you would need to visit several places to find what you are looking for.”
The first residents moved into Rawabi in 2015 and the price for flats now runs between $70,000 and $180,000.
Those fortunate enough to have managed to buy a place, often well-heeled Palestinians who worked in the Gulf or Palestinians who hold Israeli citizenship, say they feel at home.
Fatima Nazzal admitted the development felt “kind of empty” when she moved in with her husband, Iyad, and three daughters after returning from Saudi Arabia. But the family now says the standard of living matches what they experienced abroad.
“We found the same things we were used to here in relation to infrastructure, comfort and a way of life we are used to,” Mr Nazzal said.
His wife said: “Now with the opening of the Q Centre there are people coming here and there are activities.”
Turning a vacant hillside of shrubs and sand into gleaming residential streets and cafes has been a long and bumpy road, especially in an area so fraught with political tensions.
Those behind Rawabi say the Israeli authorities took years to approve an access road and stalled on connecting the city to the main water supplies, nearly sinking the project.
Despite those obstacles, Mr Al Masri has also faced criticism from those on the other side of the divide who argue he is too close to Israel.
The boycott, divestment and sanctions movement claimed he uses dealings with “Israeli elite as a means to advance personal interests and profit-making at the expense of Palestinian rights”.
But the developer dismissed critics who he said “target anything that is constructive”.
Even if he cannot guarantee it will make money, Mr Al Masri is convinced that “time will prove to these people that this is a giant step towards building our state”.