RIYADH (Agencies) July 26, 2025 — Saudi Arabia has quietly joined the United Arab Emirates and Jordan in opening a continuous overland trade route from the Persian Gulf to Israel’s Mediterranean ports, creating a critical alternative to the Houthi-threatened Red Sea shipping lanes.
The “Persian Gulf–Haifa Corridor” runs from the ports of Jebel Ali and Khalifa in the UAE (with optional origins in Bahrain), across Saudi Arabia’s Eastern Province, into Jordan via the Al Mudawara crossing, and onward through the King Hussein Bridge into Israel, terminating at Haifa and Ashdod. It officially began commercial operations in December 2023, following escalating missile and drone attacks by Yemen’s Houthi rebels on vessels bound for Israel through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait1.
Major Israeli logistics firms Trucknet Enterprise and Mentfield Logistics, together with UAE-based PureTrans FZCO, coordinate transshipment on the route. Cargo containers arriving by sea in Dubai or Bahrain are off-loaded onto Jordanian-plated trucks in Jebel Ali, driven through Saudi Arabia and Jordan, and then reloaded onto Israeli-registered vehicles at the King Hussein Bridge—without being tracked as “Israeli goods” until they reach Haifa, ensuring Saudi regulatory compliance despite Riyadh’s lack of formal ties with Jerusalem.
The overland link has reduced transit times from 14 days by sea around Africa to just four days by road, and cut freight costs by up to 80 percent compared with rerouting through the Cape of Good Hope. Analysts estimate the corridor handles dozens of trucks daily, with capacity to expand to more than 350 trucks per day as demand grows.
U.S. diplomats and Israeli officials credit the Abraham Accords framework and American mediation for facilitating Saudi tacit approval. A U.S. study projected the land bridge could save 20–30 percent in time and costs on Asia-Europe cargo flows, while laying groundwork for future rail and tourism links between the Gulf and the Mediterranean.
Yemen’s Houthi leadership has denounced the corridor as “collusion against the Palestinian cause,” warning it will continue its Red Sea blockade until Gaza’s siege ends. Jordanian authorities initially denied any involvement but have since adopted a “quiet acquiescence” to benefit from transit fees and enhanced overland connectivity.
Gulf analysts say Saudi Arabia’s embrace of the route signals Riyadh’s interest in hedging maritime risk, diversifying its logistics infrastructure and quietly normalizing ties with Israel under U.S. auspices. They expect the corridor to expand eastward into Oman and westward into Egypt, linking Haifa and Ashdod to Alexandria via rail in the coming years.
As global shipping grapples with continued instability in the Red Sea, the Gulf-to-Haifa land corridor stands as a game-changer—offering not only a lifeline for Israeli imports and exports but also a blueprint for deeper economic integration across the Middle East.