Palestinian city plans to move forward after water deal

RAMALLAH — The builder of the first planned Palestinian city in the West Bank says Israel has agreed to connect Rawabi to its water grid, ending months of costly delays.

Rawabi, a state-of-the-art city, is to have 6,000 apartments, a mall and an amphitheater. It is the West Bank’s largest Palestinian private investment project, totaling more than $1 billion, and is seen as a symbol of Palestinian state building.

Developer Bashar al-Masri said Sunday that the wrangling over the water had put off potential buyers and forced him to slow construction. Al-Masri says he now hopes to hand over 650 apartments by early summer.

Israel has said it has an interest in seeing Rawabi built, but has caused repeated delays, prompting intervention by senior Western officials on the city’s behalf.