Italian engineering firm withdraws from Jerusalem cable car project amid continued opposition

An Italian engineering consultancy has withdrawn from a planned cable car project near Jerusalem’s Old City, becoming the fifth foreign company to pull out of the initiative amid longstanding legal, environmental and political objections.

According to a report published Monday by the Israeli newspaper Haaretz, the Jerusalem Development Authority had announced plans to contract Italian firm Engineering Ropeway ROPES to provide technical consulting services for the project.

The company subsequently confirmed to Italian media that it would no longer participate.

About a month earlier, the authority’s tender committee had approved an exemption from the competitive bidding process, arguing that no Israeli company possessed the expertise required to provide the project’s specialised engineering services.

However, the Italian consultancy later reversed its initial decision to participate.

Speaking to the Italian newspaper La Repubblica, the company’s owner acknowledged that he had initially agreed to provide consulting services but subsequently withdrew.

“We are no longer involved in the project,” he said.

In separate remarks to Il Fatto Quotidiano, the company’s general manager attributed the withdrawal to a heavy workload, without citing political considerations.

The decision follows the withdrawal of four other foreign companies, including three French firms and one Swiss company, that had previously considered involvement in the project.

Some earlier withdrawals were linked to political concerns. In 2015, the French government reportedly requested that one of the companies refrain from participating.

The Israeli government approved the cable car project in 2019, presenting it as a transportation initiative intended to ease congestion around Jerusalem’s Old City.

However, legal challenges and objections from professional associations, environmental groups and human rights organizations have delayed its implementation.

The proposed 1.4-kilometre route would connect the Station complex with the Kedem complex in Silwan, a large visitor center being developed by the right-wing settler organization Elad near the entrance to the City of David National Park.

The Jerusalem Development Authority, which operates under the oversight of the Israeli government, Jerusalem municipality and Ministry of Tourism, has continued to advance the project despite opposition.

Architects, heritage preservation advocates, environmental organizations and Palestinian residents have warned that the cable car could alter the historical and urban landscape surrounding the Old City and adversely affect residents of Silwan.

The Karaite Jewish community has also objected to the project because the proposed route would pass directly over its cemetery.