numerous strategic infrastructure projects, such as the construction of
roads connecting Safed to Samakh, Haifa to Jaffa, and Jaffa to Jerusalem.
Zionist influence with the British administration was reflected in the
location of new railway stations which mirrored the needs and demands
of their colonies and took precedence over the needs of Palestinians
and their Arab neighbors. In the case of the Daraa-Haifa Line, by 1945,
fourteen of the seventeen stations serviced Zionist colonies, while just
three (Shata, Bisan and Samakh) serviced Palestinian communities. 87
Zionist entities also pushed for the establishment of new lines to service
their needs. The Ras Al-Ayn-Petah Tikva line came about as a result of
communication between Petah Tikva Settlement Committee and the
Bekaa Zionist Settlement Authority as well as the British authorities.
The goal was to connect the Petah Tikva colony to other areas in the
country and facilitate the transport of goods and products to and from
the colony. 88 Stations were established close to Zionist colonies, even
if such construction opposed the commercial benefit of the Palestine
Railway Company. 89 Zionist leaders insisted on Hebrew names for all
stations near their colonies, and succeeded in most cases, despite the
language of the area being Arabic. Zionist business companies even
changed the train’s departure time, according to what was suitable with
their needs of commercial products transport. 90
This two-pronged approach directly reflected the connection between capital
(railways and infrastructure) and investors (business interests). On the one
hand, the Zionist colonial project benefited from existing infrastructure and
policies, to build up its own influence, politically and economically, in order
to then contribute to the ongoing decision making around infrastructure.
In doing so, they created a mutually reinforcing system that allowed the
expansion and consolidation of the colonial project.
2.1.2. The Role of Transportation Infrastructure Leading up to
and During the Nakba
There was significant improvement in the economic situation during the
1930s, particularly evidenced by the establishment of oil refineries in Haifa,
87 Mansour, supra 60, 170.
88 Id., 123-144.
89 Id., 170.
90 They changed the departure time for the line from Samakh to Haifa according to what was suitable
with the need to transport milk produced in Kibbutzim and Marj Ibn Amer colonies. In addition, the
railway administration used a special train van called: “Van for Carriage Milk Traffic” to cool the milk
carts in the hot summer in order to preserve the quality of milk and prevent its spoilage. Id., 171.
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