Israel Plans Jewish Heritage Center at Old Jerusalem Airport

Jerusalem, MINA – The Jerusalem Governorate has warned that the Israeli occupation government will approve next week a project to build a Jewish heritage center on the site of the abandoned Jerusalem International Airport in the town of Qalandia, north of Jerusalem, the Palestine Information Center reports.

Israel’s Channel 7 said the government would meet next week to approve a proposal by Heritage Minister Amichai Eliyahu to establish the center in the holy city’s northern part.

In a statement on Thursday, the Jerusalem Governorate explained that this center would be built in the historic reception hall of the airport, which was established during the British Mandate. The project aims to transform the site into a heritage, tourist, and educational center serving the Israeli narrative about Occupied Jerusalem. The old airport buildings will be rehabilitated, including the historic passenger terminal.

The planning phase of the project will cost around 3 million shekels, funded from the Israeli Ministry of Heritage’s 2026 budget, which was previously approved.

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Before Israel’s occupation of the West Bank and East Jerusalem in 1967, Jerusalem International Airport served as the only airport in the Palestinian territories. Israel later seized the airport and converted it into a limited domestic airport before shutting it down completely in 2000. The airport was established in 1920, while British authorities started using it in 1924. It officially opened to regular flights in 1936.[]

Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)

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