A New Airport Is Being Proposed to Serve Both Israel and the Palestinian Authority
andriano_czA new airport that would be the first ever owned by both Israel and the Palestinian Authority may sound improbable given the years of conflict between the two peoples, but it could eventually come to light. In a recent proposal, Israel’s regional cooperation minister Issawi Frej is advocating for an airport to be constructed in the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Atarot, where an airport used to exist during the British Mandate period but has since been abandoned. It’s an area on the side of the pre-Six-Day-War boundary that was annexed by Israel when Jerusalem’s borders expanded in 1967.
An aerial view of the airport concept.
The plan was announced on the heels of the news that Israel is planning a new settlement on this very land, which caused Palestinians to immediately protest. Israel has since said that it will not move forward with these plans.
In speaking about his proposal, Minister Frej said, “As Israel’s aviation needs increase, with Ben Gurion Airport very close to its capacity limitations, and, as the decision on the location of Israel’s next airport continues to linger, the existing resource of ready airfields in Atarot must be utilized and reopened as a joint Israeli-Palestinian airport.”
He continued by saying, “The reconstruction of the airfield and its opening will both address the aviation needs of the Jerusalem metropolitan area and also address the need of the residents of the Palestinian Authority for an air entry and exit gate.”
Airplanes line up along the gates of the proposed airport.
The airport could accommodate five million passengers per year, according to Frej, and boost Israel’s economy. If the plan comes to fruition, a new airport would be built complete with a terminal serving Palestinian passengers allowing residents of the P.A. to fly directly from the Jerusalem area around the world. This would spare them from trekking to either Israel’s main Ben Gurion Airport near Tel Aviv or Amman’s main airport in neighboring Jordan, both of which can be arduous journeys filled with complex and often intrusive security protocols.
If completed, the airport will serve as far more than a mere travel entrepot — it will stand as a rare symbol of successful Israeli-Palestinian joint-cooperation. “The barrier wall between Israel and Palestine transform into a window of a better mutual future and opportunities with this new airport,” says Israeli Entrepreneur Nir Dagan and architect Dror Aviram, who've helped devise the master-plan for the new airport.
Nonetheless, for the airport to become a reality, its regulating authorities will have several hurdles to cross, according to Larry Studdiford, the founder of Studdiford Technical Solutions, an airport security and baggage systems consulting firm in Alexandria, Virginia. “Given that Palestine and Israel are both owners, they need to figure out whether they will have separate or shared protocols when it comes to bag screening and passenger security,” he says.
From a traveler’s perspective, Joey Levy, a travel advisor with Embark Beyond who frequently books trips to Israel, agrees with Frej that the region desperately needs a new airport. “Ben Gurion Airport is the only international airport in the country and is overcrowded and taxed,” he says.
A rendering of the proposed airport site.
Even with the current situation where Israel has closed its borders to non-citizens in the wake of the Omicron coronavirus variant, Levy says that the country has become an increasingly popular tourist destination over the last several years for travelers from all over the world. “People come for the beaches in Tel Aviv, the historical sites in Jerusalem, and the food and culture. It’s also become a place for business with many companies having offices there,” he says. “The bottom line is that this airport can’t come fast enough.”
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Originally posted on: https://www.architecturaldigest.com/story/israeli-palestinian-airport