Ben Gurion Canal Project

The Ben Gurion Canal Project, Israeli Canal, or Palestinian Canal is a proposed canal project through the country of Israel. It would connect the Gulf of Aqaba to the Mediterranean Sea. David Ben Gurion, for whom it would be named, is considered the Founding Father of Israel and was the first Prime Minister of Israel. The canal would rival the Suez Canal that runs through Egypt, which has had many disturbances in its history, such as the Israeli blockage through the Suez Canal and Straits of Tiran, Closure of the Suez Canal (1956–1957), Closure of the Suez Canal (1967–1975), and the 2021 Suez Canal obstruction. It would be almost one third longer than the 120.1 mi (193.3 km) Suez Canal, at around 182 mi (292.9 km). The cost of creating the Israeli canal is estimated to cost between $16 - $55 billion USD.[1]

Ben Gurion Canal topographic map
Ben Gurion Canal topographic map
Ben Gurion Canal topographic maps.
Ben Gurion Canal compared to the Suez Canal

Route

Starting from the Southern end at the Gulf of Aqaba, by the port city of Eilat in Israel on the Israeli and Jordanian border, through the Arabah Valley for about 100 km between the Negev Mountains and the Jordanian Highlands and veers West before the Dead Sea basin and the Dead Sea which is 430.5 metres (1,412 ft) below sea level,[2] and heads through a valley in the Negev Mountain Range, then heads North again to get around the Gaza Strip and link up with the Mediterranean Sea.

Arabah Valley by the Gulf of Aqaba
Arabah Valley by the Gulf of Aqaba
Arabah in 1959
Arabah valley in 1959

NASA photos
Southern Israel Gulf of Aqaba, Eilat, Israel, and Aqaba, Jordan

Initial plan in 1963
One path studied took a straighter line through the Negev Desert hills, another path studied went North through the Arabah valley and cut west before the Dead Sea basin through the hills and curves North again above the Gaza Strip.

In July 1963, the United States Department of Energy and the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory created a classified document that outlined a plan to use 520 buried nuclear explosions to help in the excavation process through the hills in the Negev Desert. The document was declassified in 1993.[3][4]

Suez Canal Revenue

The Suez Canal set a new record with annual revenue of $9.4 billion in USD for the fiscal year that ended June 30, 2023.[5]

Suez Canal monthly revenue
In USD

See also

References
  1. "All you should know about the Israeli Ben Gurion Canal project". Frontier India. 2021-04-11. Retrieved 2023-08-15.
  2. "Israel and Jordan Sign 'Historic' $900 Million Deal to Save the Dead Sea". Newsweek. 2015-02-27.
  3. https://www.osti.gov/opennet/servlets/purl/453701.pdf
  4. Guenot, Marianne. "The US had a plan in the 1960s to blast an alternative Suez Canal through Israel using 520 nuclear bombs". Business Insider. Retrieved 2023-08-15.
  5. "Suez Canal annual revenue hits record $9.4 billion, chairman says". Reuters. 2023-06-21. Retrieved 2023-08-15.
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