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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.
A general view shows a section of Israel's controversial separation wall near Qalandia crossing between the West Bank city of Ramallah and Israel-annexed East Jerusalem. The tarmac of the former Atarot airport, which has been closed to civilian traffic since the breakout of the second Palestinian intifada in 2000, can be seen in the center, July 28, 2016.

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.

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