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Prof. Yoram Meital Weighs in on Saudi-Egypt Bridge

Prof. Yoram Meital Weighs in on Saudi-Egypt Bridge

October 26, 2017

Social Sciences & Humanities

Bloomberg – Saudi Arabia and Egypt are interested in building a bridge across the Red Sea that would connect a new $500 billion Saudi city to Egypt. This project will require cooperation from Israel, analysts say.

Prof. Yoram Meital

Israel’s 1979 peace treaty with Egypt guarantees it access to the Red Sea’s Straits of Tiran, which the planned bridge and causeway would cross.

That makes Israel’s involvement in the project crucial, says Prof. Yoram Meital, chair of the Chaim Herzog Center for Middle East Studies in BGU’s Department of Middle East Studies. Egypt’s closing of the straits to Israeli shipping in 1967 was one of the central actions that led to that year’s war.

“There couldn’t be anything close to this unless Israel and the Saudis had the opportunity to discuss in detail their relations and this bridge,” says Prof. Meital. “There have to have been back channels.”

Read the full article on the Bloomberg website >>