The Jerusalem District Planning Committee on Monday decided to advance the route of the Jerusalem light rail, the Blue Line, which will travel on Emek Refaim Street in the German Colony. The decision follows a formidable battle by store owners and residents alike. Insisting the planned route will adversely impact their lives.

The line will connect the Ramot in the north to Gilo in the south of the city. The opponents presented numerous options to avoid Emek Refaim Street, but ultimately, the planning committee decided as it did.

Professor Ariel Hirschfeld, chairman of the “Refaim in the Colonies” association, which opposes the transfer of the train in Emek Refaim, said: “We are outraged and regret the decision of the District Committee. This mistaken decision is erroneously founded, and out of the caprice of who led and promoted it. Despite the painful decision, we regard it as another stumbling block on the way and assure our thousands of supporters that the struggle is not over yet, but is just beginning, and we will continue to struggle in all legal ways until our full victory. It is clear to us beyond a doubt that a train will not pass through Emek Refaim or the railway track, but only in the tunnel.”

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)