The last 12 kilometers: Beit She'an's bid to become the IMEC gateway

Twelve kilometers of railway tracks still separate Beit She'an from the Jordanian border. This connection is one of the last Israeli links in the future IMEC corridor, designed to connect India to Europe by crossing the Middle East. The route plans to transport goods by ship from India to the Gulf countries, then by train across the Arabian Peninsula, Jordan, and Israel. They will then reach Europe from the port of Haifa.

In Israel, a large part of the infrastructure already exists. Beit She'an is connected to Haifa by rail, and the Jordanian border is just a few kilometers away. There are about 12 kilometers of track left to build in order to directly connect the Israeli network to Jordan.

"We have the potential to become an inland port city, a nerve center of global trade," says Noam Jouma, mayor of Beit She'an. Jouma presents IMEC as a driver of economic development, employment, but also of regional cooperation and security.

The town's population is projected to nearly triple within the next ten years, largely on the strength of the IMEC plan. Rather than shipping everything by sea around the Arabian Peninsula and through the Suez Canal, some cargo could instead move overland, and Israel's advantage is that much of the infrastructure needed is already in place.

Beyond the jobs and economic opportunities this would create locally, the mayor sees the project as a way to transform the region as a whole. "When my mother was a child here in the Jordan Valley, she and her friends would stand on this side of the border, and Jordanian friends would come from the other side, and they would shout to each other," Jouma says.

At the border, the "Jordan Gate" is already partially developed. Just southeast of Beit She'an is where the IMEC corridor is set to pass. A bridge built five years ago physically connects the two banks, even though it is not yet in use.

The project also includes an industrial zone on the Jordanian side and a hub dedicated to employment and high technology on the Israeli side. "This also serves the vision of IMEC, because ultimately the entire corridor that starts in India and goes all the way to Europe passes right through this geographic area," says Itamar Matiash, mayor of the Valley of Springs regional council.

But the bridge remains empty for now, and still requires an army presence, as people occasionally cross the border illegally at the site. Development there was halted amid the deterioration in relations between Israel and Jordan. "This was put on hold, and now, fortunately, we're getting it out of the mud," Matiash says.

The main obstacle now remains political. Relations between Israel and Jordan have significantly deteriorated during the war, and cooperation projects have been slowed down. The elected officials of northern Israel are therefore calling for an acceleration. Beit She'an is participating in the Haifa Bay 53 initiative, which brings together 53 municipalities to focus on regional development.

The railway is there, the bridge is built, and the route exists: what is missing is 12 kilometers of track and the political will to connect them.