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14.09.2025
The Headline
Turkey has begun the process of renewing the Hejaz Railway, which logistically and economically linked the Middle East to Istanbul;
Through the railway, Turkey transported troops and weapons from Damascus to Jordan and Medina in Saudi Arabia, and now Turkey will isolate Israel?
Turkey began the overt process of renewing the Hejaz Railway on Friday at a meeting between senior Turkish, Syrian and Jordanian officials in Amman, Jordan. At almost the same time, two Jordanian military vehicles crossed the border into Israel in the area of Sodom Square in the Arava. We do not know if the two events are related to the message that Jordan intends to convey to Israel; it is possible that if the discussion about the Hejaz Railway had not taken place in Jordan at the same time, we would not have reported on the crossing of the Jordanian military vehicles in the Arava; various figures tried many times to renew the Hejaz Railway from the end of World War I to the beginning of the 2000s; as part of the peace process, and mainly in the attempt to bring about the signing of the An agreement between Israel and the Palestinians, and between Israel and Saudi Arabia, many figures have also spoken a lot about Israel's connection to the Hejaz Railway, and with the connection in the opposite direction of Saudi Arabia and the Gulf countries and Jordan to the Mediterranean ports of Haifa and Ashdod. Now the Turkish intention is apparently to isolate Israel through the strategic railway. The beginning of Turkey's open move to renew the Hejaz Railway, was as stated on Friday at a meeting in Amman, between senior transportation officials from Turkey, Jordan and Syria, and it was accompanied by a report by the Turkish Anadolu News Agency, which brought the call of the Syrian Deputy Minister of Transportation during the conference in Amman to his colleagues from Turkey and Jordan: "(We must) renew projects on land and by rail, and first of all the Hejaz Railway." To explain this call by the Syrian Deputy Minister, which was, in our opinion, invited in advance by the Turks, The Turkish News Agency clarified The full significance of the Hejaz Railway in the past, with a strong hint of its future significance: "The Hejaz Railway, which is approximately 1,750 kilometers long, was built by the Ottoman Sultan Abd al-Hamid II to connect Istanbul, Mecca, Medina, Yemen and Damascus. The Hejaz Railway began operating in 1908. The railway, which contributed to the development of the region, was built for religious, military and political purposes." Commentary: In the talks currently taking place between Syria and Israel (see our report today in the main story), Israel may, in our assessment, demand that Syria not take any further steps regarding the renewal of the Hejaz Railway without Israel's consent and without coordination with it, for example through a conference for the redistribution of influence in the Middle East (referring to the Sykes-Picot Conference of 1916).
The Israeli Palestinian Post
The most important mission that the Hejaz Railway fulfilled for Ottoman Turkey was the transfer of large military forces and weapons to the city of Medina in Saudi Arabia at the beginning of World War I. The Hejaz Railway thus demonstrated its strategic military importance, and it continues to demonstrate its strategic importance today.
Turkey's attempt to renew the Hejaz Railway now, at the height of the political tension between Turkey and Israel, and between Israel and the Middle East countries, ensures that Israel will not be part of the process, and perhaps more than that: that the redevelopment of the railway will be a strategic action of an important military and economic nature, against Israel; developing the railway without Israel, could separate and isolate Israel from its neighbors, as well as from Europe. Since Turkey is an important member of NATO (see the recent statement of the organization's secretary), the renewal of the Hejaz Railway, in addition to Turkey's attempts to spoil Israel's relations with Europe, and to spoil Israel's relations with the Western military organization, this renewal of the railway could be a strategic tool in Turkey's hands, to spoil Israel's relations with the Western military organization, NATO. Israel and Syria are currently holding talks to restore the reality between them to calmer lines (see today in the main story). In our assessment, Israel will demand from Syria in the talks not to continue the course of Renewal of the Hejaz Railway from Damascus, without Israel's consent.
On Friday, two Jordanian military vehicles crossed the border into Israel at Sodom Square, in the northern Arava. From the information we have, it appears that unlike previous times when the Jordanian army crossed the border, but coordinated its crossing in advance with the IDF, this time no such coordination was made. Our assessment stems from the knowledge that the crossing was received as a surprise. We should note that the crossing of the Jordanian force occurred at the exact moment when the discussion on the renewal of the Hejaz Railway was taking place in Amman; it is very possible that if the two events had not occurred at the same time, we would not have reported the crossing of the Jordanian army vehicles into Israel.