City of Dreams

City of Dreams

Annie Sakkab

Rawabi, which means “hills” in Arabic, is the first Palestinian planned city situated 10 kilometers away from Ramallah, the effective Palestinian capital. It’s a 1.4 billion dollar green metropolis developed and built by Palestinian-American businessman Bashar Masri. 
“Building a city is in a way fighting occupation,” Mr. Masri explains. 
It is also a fight to prevent the last bits of prime West Bank real estate from turning into Israeli settlements. For Bashar, it is a dream come true. For Palestinians, it’s a community and a city that gives it’s residents a sense of sovereignty and identity in a safe and healthy environment. Since the grand opening in 2015, about 5,000 people have moved in. Public amenities range from a Roman-style amphitheater that can hold 15 thousand people (the biggest of its kind in the Middle East), to outdoor cafes, English school, indoor amusement center, playgrounds, extreme sports, cinemas, and a city center with upscale stores selling high-end brands. 

Across the valley from Rawabi sits Ateret, the first settlement built in the West Bank after the six-day war in 1967 – considered illegal under international law. Residents in Ateret can see the monumental flagpole with its adjacent life-size sculpture of a Palestinian family holding hands with their backs to Ateret. 
“Personally, it does not make me angry, though it makes me a little bothered that they take up the beautiful view,” a settler who declined to give his name out says. 
For Fadi Salameh and his wife Suhair, residents of Rawabi, “it is a hilltop, and as long as we are living on the hilltops, we are resisting. The Israelis have taken most of the hilltops. For us, it is retrieving what little is left for us.”

The Palestinian City of Rawabi, the first planned city in the Palestinian Territories, under construction in Ramallah, West Bank. Rawabi City is the West Bank’s biggest private investment – estimated at $1.2 billion (US) on a hilltop nine kilometres north of Ramallah, the effective Palestinian capital.
Fathiyyeh Shtayyeh enjoys a bright and warm afternoon in the city of Rawabi with her daughter Suhair, who moved with her family into the city of Rawabi in September 2015 in Ramallah. Shtayeh feels Rawabi provides her grandchildren a safe and secure environment to grow up in.
4-year-old Yacoub looks out of the window to watch his father barbecue outside their new home at Rawabi city in Ramallah.
Suhair Shtayeh with her 4-year-old son Yacoub and her daughter Nour, 6, at their new condominium in the city of Rawabi in Ramallah. Suhair and her husband Fadi are excited to be in a city where they are able to find everything they need in one place like education for their children, work opportunities for her and her family, entertainment and retail where they can walk and be out in the streets in a safe and comfortable environment.
A Palestinian construction worker at the new city of Rawabi in Ramallah. During the construction period, Rawabi secures from 8,000 to 10,000 jobs to Palestinians living in the West Bank. After the construction, they would have around 5,000 permanent jobs inside the city of Rawabi.
Israeli family at the Israeli settlement of Ateret in the West bank where over 800 Jewish settlers can see the Palestinian city of Rawabi with it’s line of flags that stand on the hills of Rawabi, including a giant one measuring 1,450 sq ft. at Ateret Settlement.
Fadi Salam with his 4-year-old son Yacoub visits family in the city of Biddya where they lived prior to moving into the Palestinian city of Rawabi.
Suhair Shtayeh at her in-laws house in the Palestinian village of Biddya in the West Bank where she lived with her children and husband Fadi Salam prior to moving to their new condominium in the new city of Rawabi in Ramallah.
Suhair Shtayeh at Rawabi city in Ramallah.
A night scene of the Palestinian City of Rawabi, the first planned city in the Palestinian Territories, under construction in Ramallah, West Bank. Rawabi City is the West Bank’s biggest private investment – estimated at $1.2 billion (US) on a hilltop nine kilometres north of Ramallah, the effective Palestinian capital.
6-year-old Nour (middle) enjoys a quite evening with her family and neighbourhood children just outside her new home at Rawabi city in Ramallah. The key to Rawabis’ success is attracting tech investments. “IT is more occupation resilient. The closures and moving goods everyday in and out of Rawabi City, IT is safer because you don’t have to move through checkpoints the product or raw material.” Main investor Bashar Al Masri explains.
Bashar Al Masri, main investor of the new Palestinian city of Rawabi, poses for a portrait at the sales centre in Rawabi city, Ramallah.
A view from Rawabi city showing the water pipeline (right) and the Jewish settlement of Ateret (left). Even though the city of Rawabi had its soft launch a year earlier with plumbing and reservoir tanks in place, Palestinian families are still not able to move into the newly built city for the lack of water agreement with the Israeli government to bring water pipelines through the israeli-occupied territory to the new development.
Khaled Al Omra, from Hebron, at the new supermarket with his family in the new Palestinian city of Rawabi in Ramallah.
Israeli children play at the Israeli settlement of Ateret in the West bank where over 800 Jewish settlers can see the Palestinian city of Rawabi with it’s line of flags that stand on the hills of Rawabi, including a giant one measuring 1,450 sq ft. at Ateret Settlement.
Fadi Salam with his wife and children pose for a family portrait at their new condominium in the city of Rawabi in Ramallah.
4-year-old Yacoub enjoys the new play area at Rawabi city in Ramallah.
Suhair Shtayeh with her children and mother-in-law Fathiyyeh Shtayyeh at the new play area at Rawabi city in Ramallah.
Fadi Salam on his way to school with his children Nour, 6, and Yacoub, 4 at the new city of Rawabi in Ramallah. Rawabi currently provides free rides to schools outside the city until the Rawabi school is complete.
Suhair Shtayyeh on her way to the Palestinian city of Biddya where she lived with her family prior to moving to Rawabi.
A sculpture depicting a Palestinian family holding hands by Palestinian artist Nabil Anani atop Rawabi’s hill in Rawabi city.
Total
0
Shares
Share 0
Tweet 0

Subscribe

Subscribe now to our newsletter

Office : 39 John Street, Studio 2B-2 New York, NY 10038

© 2024 Middle East Images, LLC.