A fifth foreign company has withdrawn from a controversial plan to construct a cable car connecting West to East Jerusalem, a project that rights groups warn could lead to the displacement of Palestinian families and alter the cultural landscape of the area. Despite this setback, local authorities maintain that the project is moving forward as planned.

Project Overview

The proposed 1.4 km cable car route, which was approved by the Israeli government in 2019 and upheld by the high court in 2022, is intended to link West Jerusalem to a 16,000 sq meter tourist complex promoted by the far-right settler organization Elad. This organization aims to consolidate Israeli control over Palestinian territories in occupied East Jerusalem.

The Jerusalem Development Authority (JDA) issued a notice of intent to award a contract to ROPES, a cable car engineering consultancy based in South Tyrol, Italy, just weeks before Israel's elections on October 27, 2023. However, Stephan Obexer, CEO of ROPES, informed the Guardian that his company declined the consultancy work due to prior commitments in India.

Legal and Social Implications

According to Emek Shaveh, an Israeli NGO, the JDA has accelerated plans for the cable car project, which has faced criticism for its implications on Palestinian communities. The organization stated:

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"This project threatens the Palestinian communities and the timeless landscape of Jerusalem’s historic core. It is clear that the project’s central motivation is to consolidate the settlers’ hold in those areas as part of an effort to displace Palestinians from the Historic Basin and reshape Jerusalem’s cultural landscape."