Dream House.(Beit Palestine, or House of Palestine)(Brief Article)

Construction has stopped on Beit Palestine, or House of Palestine, the grand mansion commissioned by Munib Masri, a patriarch of the most influential Palestinian family on either side of the Jordan River. Nearly complete and perched atop the highest mountain in Nablus, the villa seems to levitate, Olympus-like, above a city that was known as the industrial heartland of the Palestinian territories before the current intifada shut it down, along with the rest of the West Bank.

The mansion is an extravagant monument to the Masri family vision of a rich Palestine emerging from the economic decay of the Middle East. Masri, a flamboyant 68-year-old, has embroidered Beit Palestine with luxury trimming--fireplace mantels, statues, tiled floors--all collected from his travels in Europe. Thousands of wooden crates containing baroque and Victorian fixtures are stacked on the grounds, awaiting installation. Think Hearst Castle in the Holy Land and you get the idea. Once finished, says Masri, Beit Palestine will open its doors to the Palestinian people. "I have an obligation to them," Masri says, scampering up a catwalk to the main dining room. "When the Israelis tear out a tree, we plant a tree. When they destroy a house, we build a house." Even an unfinished Beit Palestine is a hopeful symbol to Palestinians, particularly compared with the devastation of Yasir Arafat's compound, leveled by Israeli forces last month.

The Masri family, with Munib and his 64-year-old second cousin Sabih at its head, has been the leading investor in the Palestinian Authority and Jordan since the Arab-Israeli peace process began a decade ago. Arab leaders hailed Masri investments as a valuable peace dividend. Even now, Sabih Masri in particular continues to invest, against the counsel of some family members. Sabih says the Masris can afford to bet on the region since most of the family fortune is invested elsewhere, particularly Saudi Arabia and the United States. But he acknowledges the risks. "I'm an optimist," he says from his office, adorned with Southeast Asian antiques. "At the end of the day, Israel will have to accept the fact that peace is inevitable."

Many Palestinians have invested in their homeland, but few if any are so powerful as the Masris. Sabih has close links to the monarchies in both Saudi Arabia and Jordan and is friendly with Lebanese prime minister and real-estate mogul Rafik Hariri. Maher Masri, Sabih's nephew, is Yasir Arafat's trade minister. Another nephew, Taher, has served as Jordan's prime minister. Munib's current home in Nablus, where he awaits the completion of his mansion, is considered one of the few places Arafat will sleep without a bodyguard present.

The Masri empire has been expanding rapidly since Sabih made a fortune supplying the U.S. Army during the 1990 gulf war. Their holdings now include hotels, telephone grids, water projects, supermarket chains, port developments, an investment bank and auto dealerships scattered about the West Bank and Jordan. Most significantly, Sabih Masri owns critical water rights and is poised to play a role in what one day could be the region's most vital asset: a pipeline linking the Dead Sea and Red Sea that would provide the region with fresh water for ...