Israel Plans Jewish Heritage Center at Abandoned Jerusalem International Airport in Occupied East Jerusalem

The Israeli government is set to approve next week the construction of a Jewish heritage center on the grounds of the abandoned Jerusalem International Airport in occupied East Jerusalem, Israeli media reported Thursday.

“The Jerusalem Governorate warned today, Thursday, of an anticipated approval by the Israeli government of a project to establish a settler heritage center on the land of the abandoned Jerusalem International Airport in the town of Qalandia, north of occupied East Jerusalem”

Al-Jazeera Net

The project would be approved after a proposal by Heritage Minister Amichai Eliyahu to establish the center in the city’s northern part, with Channel 7 saying the abandoned airport buildings, including the historic passenger terminal, would be restored and transformed.

Al-Jazeera Net

The Middle East Monitor report said the project would cost 3 million shekels (about $1 million), funded through the Heritage Ministry’s approved 2026 budget.

The Al-Jazeera Net report said the Jerusalem Governorate warned of an anticipated approval of the project and said it would be established inside the historic Jerusalem airport’s passenger terminal building built in 1920 during the British Mandate and later came under Israeli control after the 1967 occupation.

The Al-Jazeera Net report also said the governorate linked the initiative to the 50th anniversary of the Entebbe military operation in 1976 to rescue hostages aboard a plane hijacked by Palestinians.

The Al-Jazeera Net report said the governorate described the project as aiming to turn the site into a "heritage, tourism and educational" center that serves the Israeli narrative in Jerusalem.

It added that the plan includes a special wing to commemorate "Yoni Netanyahu," the brother of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who was killed during the Entebbe operation.

Middle East Monitor

The Al-Jazeera Net report said Yoni Netanyahu was killed on July 4, 1976 while leading the operation to free hostages aboard a plane bound from Tel Aviv to Paris.

The Middle East Monitor report said the airport was established in 1920, while British Mandate authorities began using it in 1924, and it officially opened to regular flights in 1936.

The Middle East Monitor report said the airport area lies between East Jerusalem and the West Bank city of Ramallah, and that the United Nations considers the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, occupied Palestinian territory.

Separately from the airport plan, the Gulf newspaper الصحيفة الخليج reported that Israel plans to transfer activists of the 'Flotilla of Resilience' to Greece.

“Arab World / The World”

Al-Sahifa al-Khaleej

The report said Israel announced the transfer of the intercepted activists from the 'Global Flotilla of Resilience' to Greece in coordination with the Greek government within the coming hours without escalation, citing AFP.

It quoted Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar saying on Thursday that the activists who were on board the 'Global Flotilla of Resilience' bound for Gaza and intercepted by the Israeli Navy will be transferred to Greece.

Saar wrote on X that "In coordination with the Greek government, the civilians who were transferred from the flotilla ships to the Israeli vessel will be landed on Greek soil in the coming hours," thanking the Greek government for expressing readiness to receive participants.

The report framed the move as happening "within the coming hours without escalation," while the Middle East Monitor report tied the airport project to broader efforts to Judaize occupied East Jerusalem and erase its Arab and Islamic identity.