French company reportedly withdraws from Jerusalem Light Rail project

Published: JUNE 27, 2018 21:30

The Jerusalem light rail (photo credit: MARC ISRAEL SELLEM/THE JERUSALEM POST) — The Jerusalem light rail

(photo credit: MARC ISRAEL SELLEM/THE JERUSALEM POST)

A possible motive is due to the company being majority-owned by French state-owned public corporations – SNCF and RATP, both of whom have come under pressure by labor unions critical of Israel.

A French rail and transit engineering firm –helping Jerusalem build two new light rail lines– is reportedly winding down its work on the gigantic construction project.

The company, Systra, did not cite the specific reason for reneging on its consulting services agreement, but executives have come under sustained pressure by pro-Palestinian campaigners.

Systra specializes in designing the routes for subways, light rail, high-speed trains and slower freight rail.

Last week, Systra’s parent company said it would be “withdrawing from the red and purple line of the Jerusalem Light Rail,” according to Middle East Monitor. There is no purple line so it’s unclear what the company was referring to.

In 2011, the company won a tender to design the Jerusalem Light Rail’s Blue Line in a joint venture with the DEL Group and MATI.

The Blue Line and Green Line are currently under construction. The former will connect the northern neighborhood of Ramot to southern district Gilo – two large Jewish neighborhoods in east Jerusalem – deemed settlements by much of the international community.

The latter will connect the two campuses of Hebrew University of Jerusalem at Mount Scopus and Hadassah Ein Kerem.

The move by Systra comes a few weeks after a French NGO, the International Federation for Human Rights, published a report detailing how three French companies were involved in the Jerusalem Light Rail project.

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The engineering firm was contracted to assist with quality control, preliminary engineering design, substation layout and project management.

Systra could not provide a detailed comment as of press time.

One possible motive is due to the company being majority-owned by French state-owned public corporations – SNCF and RATP. Both groups have come under pressure by labor unions highly critical of Israel.

Many Palestinian advocates took issue with the light rail project crossing the Green Line – or the 1949 armistice lines between Israel and Jordan.

Some activists claim Israeli infrastructure projects in east Jerusalem and the West Bank violate international law and laws governing Israel’s military control of the territories.

Multiple court rulings worldwide, including in France, have found that Israeli public works projects in the West Bank are legal.

The company does work all across the globe, including in Western countries like England, Ireland, Italy, Australia, Brazil, as well as in countries with more questionable human rights records, such as China, Morocco and India.

The firm employs around 6,100 people and had revenues of more than 600 million euros ($700m.) in 2016. Systra is involved in some 3,000 projects worldwide.