Palestinians alarmed by Israel settlement plan on Jerusalem airport
Israel's Greater Jerusalem Project is taking shape with the construction of thousands of new settlement units on the land of Jerusalem airport, setting off alarm bells with the Palestinians.
RAMALLAH, West Bank — Israel is promoting the construction of more than 9,000 new settlement units on the land of Jerusalem airport, or what is known as Qalandia Airport or Atarot Airport. The project is part of a settlement plan that is the largest of its kind in the West Bank in decades.
The Jerusalem municipality is promoting the project and executing the infrastructure works for the next steps. The project is expected to bite off Jerusalem International Airport, which was seized by Israel when it took control of the West Bank in 1967.
Neither the Hebrew media nor the Israeli authorities published new details about the project, except for what was reported Oct. 4 by the Israeli Channel 13 about the Jerusalem municipality promoting the project. Channel 13 did not go into more details.
Jerusalem International Airport is the only airport in the West Bank. It was established in 1920. Four years later, the British Mandate authorities started using it for their planes. In 1936, it was opened to public flights, but with Israel’s control over it in 1967, Israeli airlines used it for commercial and domestic flights to and from Jerusalem until they closed it permanently in 2000, turning it into an abandoned site.
